A Place To Land
by drumblonde
Summary: AU. Gemma is bullied at school, and her only outlet is music. She loses hope until she meets Blaine, a handsome and charming new friend from another school. Everything around her is falling-will she ever find a place to land? Reviews, pretty please.
1. Beginnings

**DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE I MADE HIM STRAIGHT. I wanted to see how this would be recieved here on fanfic. The only similarity this Blaine has with the one from Glee is the name and a few characteristics. Nothing else. Nobody else from Glee exists. I don't want to add to the never-ending pile of Klaine fics, so I made one of my own... (and I'm going to go and hide in a corner now)**

**_Please review_, and help me out! I love writing this, so I could use all the advice I can get!**

**I want people to enjoy this, so please give it a chance and read beyond the first chapter... It develops way more after this. And I'm also new to this sort of thing.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing :)**

* * *

Silently, Gemma removed the covers from her bed and sat on the edge for a minute with her head in her hands. She was bathed in the glow of the moonlight that came streaming through the crack in the curtains. A single tear rolled down her face and she wiped it away as she got up and walked to her bathroom and closed the door behind her, turning on the light. She moved slowly to the mirror, and closed her eyes, reaching out for the sink. When she felt the rim, she grabbed it tightly and pulled herself closer to the sink. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and stared back at the reflection in the mirror.

She was not prepared for what she saw in the mirror.

Her eyes were swollen and red from crying all night, and her nose was chapped from blowing into the pile of tissues that were carelessly stuffed into the trash bin next to her nightstand. Her hair was a frizzy mess; nothing like the usually slick-straight style she forced it into each and every day. Her pajamas were rumpled and creased in all the wrong places.

_I have to do something about this. I can't go on this way,_ she thought to herself as she fought back a racking sob that threatened to break her composure once more. She turned away from her mirror and returned to the bed that harbored her fitful sleep. Her bed was perfectly fine; it was the dreams she had once her head hit the pillow that deeply disturbed her. Sleep was not a haven, but a nightly reminder of the torture she went through daily at school. This time, she forced herself to swallow the pill that would promise a full night's sleep, and rested her head on the pillow, wondering what the next day would bring.

She only wished that her pain would end soon.

* * *

At six-thirty sharp, she walked through the doors of her school, vowing to be positive and not let the taunting get to her. Walking through the door of the room that served the dual purpose of a band and choir room, she sat down on the piano bench and looked up at the man that stood in the front of the room.

Mr. Jones, the music director for Greenwood High School in Amherst, Ohio, looked over the room with a carefully guarded face. Inside, he was struggling with what he was going to tell his students this morning at show choir rehearsal. The regional ensemble contest was fast approaching and he knew that his students were not ready. At all. He tried to think how he would tell them of the importance of this contest was to their club, school, and city. However, they were only interested in gossiping about the day before and the events that went on after school let out. The only one, strangely enough, that was not talking was the usually bubbly Gemma. She just sat in her place quietly and stared straight ahead.

He knew something was wrong—Gemma was always getting in trouble for talking out of turn—but he didn't know what he could ask her without prying too much, let alone give her any advice. Mr. Jones preferred to stay somewhat aloof so he wouldn't get caught up in his student's dramas. A slim man in his mid thirties, he liked to think that he was beyond the dramas of high school. He ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair, clearly stressed.

However, this was different. It felt different to him. He decided to drop by the office later that day and tell the student counselor that something was up with Gemma. This could hurt their performance if she let whatever was affecting her impact her playing and singing. They could not afford to lose after they had come this far.

"Ahem,' he cleared his throat to get the attention of his students. "We all know what is coming up, right? Well, it's high time we focus for it. Because if we can't separate personal drama from music, our music suffers. So I want all of you to concentrate and think about what you would like to accomplish at this contest, besides winning. Michaela, why don't you share with the class whatever you think is so funny," he said cutting her off from her explosive laughter.

She blushed, and mumbled that it's not important and looked down to the floor, not daring to look him in the eye. Despite the fact the Mr. Jones was on the short side, and stayed quiet, he was still a teacher, and teachers were intimidating.

"That's what I thought. Now," he continued, "our competition is a bit steeper after we won sectionals _by a slim margin_ so I suggest you all start coming up with ideas for this next competition."

Gabe, who was sitting in the front row, immediately raised his hand into the air, waving his fingers like a child would when they ask for attention. _Like he needed any extra attention,_ thought Jones. _That kid dresses more gay than the Fourth of July. _He rolled his eyes slightly so the kids wouldn't see, and recognized Gabe's will to speak.

"Well, I think we need to do some research of our competition and see if we can get a little of an upper hand, seeing as other groups have done that to us. It's only fair," he chirped as an afterthought.

"No, Gabe, it's not. That's spying, and it's against the rules."

"Yeah. If we're caught. Which we wouldn't be."

"The answer is no, and that's final. Any other ideas that wouldn't get us into trouble?"

Silence.

"Okay then. I guess nobody has any ideas." _Great_, he thought. _What hope do we have of winning when these kids have no passion? _He sat on his stool for a few more moments and then dismissed the club with an impatient wave of his hand. The kids all bolted for the door. _Not surprised, _Jones observed. _Not surprised at all._

Later that day, at lunch, Gemma sat with her usual group of friends: Michaela, Gabe, Rocky, Amber, and Scott. Gabe was still obsessing over his 'brilliant' idea to spy on the competition. He was talking about it animatedly as he prattled on about the groups competing at Regionals.

"You guys, Mr. Jones is right. We do have to step it up for this. I've done a little research on some of the other schools, but I still need some help. I need someone to investigate the uh- Westbrook Academy Cardinals," he said, glancing at his notepad that he kept with him to confirm the information.

For the first time that day, Gemma spoke up. "Wait, you said Westbrook?"

"Yeah, that's what the list says on the competition website. The school website for Westbrook isn't very full of information, so I need someone to check it out. And I would go myself, but I wouldn't risk it since Jones shot down my idea. He would totally suspect me first."

"I'll do it," she said quickly, surprising herself.

The entire table turned to face her with questioning looks on their own faces, clearly surprised as well.

"I've always been curious to see what that school was like!" she said, covering up, quickly. Her friends didn't look like they quite believed her, but they let it go pretty easily. "Great!" exclaimed Gabe as he clasped his hands together excitedly, overly pleased with his schemes. "Thanks, Gemma!"

"Sure," she said quietly. The truth was that she had heard plenty about Westbrook Academy. But she needed to see it for herself before she got her hopes up. She had completely forgotten about that school until Gabe mentioned it, but now she knew she wouldn't be able to erase it from her mind until she checked it out.

The next day, Greenwood High had a teacher work day, so Gemma took this opportunity to visit Westbrook. So she made the hour and a half drive to Westbrook, Ohio and soon found herself on the sprawling grounds of Westbrook Academy. It was too late to turn back, and she had already driven this far, so she took a breath and walked through the halls of Westbrook in search of the choir.

* * *

Blaine had been looking at his sheet music for the last hour trying to think of some sort of feeling to back this song up. The problem being that the song was completely outside his choice, it being a love song. It wasn't that he didn't like the song; he just didn't have any feeling behind it. But he knew he had to sing it well otherwise he would most likely be out of the running for the lead for Regionals. His solos had been lacking the punch that the Cardinals were looking for in their front man. He sighed, tossing the papers aside and descended the staircase that led to the lower level where the performance would be taking place in about fifteen minutes. It was then that he accidentally bumped into somebody on his way down the staircase, distracted from his predicament to notice anyone there.

"Oh, I'm sor-"

"No, it was my fault," he interrupted. Then he looked up and into pools of deep blue eyes that stopped him short, causing him to completely forget his problem of exactly three seconds ago. Those eyes were lined in a row of long, dark eyelashes. He broke away from her eyes for a moment to take in the rest of her person. Aside from her eyes, she was just plain gorgeous, with a delicate air about her. She had long, dark blonde hair that fell pin straight, almost to her waist, and she was impeccably dressed despite the fact that she was clearly not wearing the school uniform. He forced himself to look away in embarrassment, hoping she wouldn't see the mesmerized look on his face before he looked away.

"Hi, I'm new here," she offered. "I was wondering if you could tell me what was going on here," she said, gesturing around her to the current rush to get to the commons.

"I-I'm Blaine," he said, extending his hand. _Did I just stutter?_ _Shit. _She said her name was Gemma, and he instantly thought it was the most incredible name on earth. "You must be referring to our weekly performance that the Cardinals do. It tends to take over the school for a little while," he explained.

"Your choir is-popular?" she asked, looking slightly stunned.

"Yeah," he answered, "we're like superstars here." _Okay, maybe that was a bit of an overstatement. But still, she looks impressed._ "Come on, I'll show you how to get to the commons."

With that he took her hand and led her down an empty hallway and guided her gently with his hand on the small of her back. He knew he was being a bit forward, but he couldn't help himself. He had just found his inspiration.

* * *

He led the way until they came to double doors at the end of a long hall. They stopped and he took his hand off her back to open the doors that closed off the commons from the hallway. As soon as Gemma saw the rest of the students in the room, she winced and commented on her conspicuous 'uniform'. "Wow I really should have worn my uniform. I stick out. Badly," she said sheepishly, giving Blaine a look that made his stomach feel like it had taken a ride on a roller coaster.

"Oh, hey, that's no problem. Just don't forget to wear it next time. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, eyeing her one last time before he turned to his fellow Cardinals as they started the song in a cappella style. Blaine walked to his place at the front of the group and looked at the floor for a second before singing out:

_I got my sights set on you_

_And I'm ready to aim_

_I have a heart that will_

_Never be tamed_

Blaine shook his finger as in 'Oh, no you don't".

_I knew you were something special_

_When you spoke my name_

_Now I can't wait to see you again_

He looked out at the crowd of people gathered to watch with a satisfied smile on his face and lifted up an eyebrow that turned his smile into a smirk.

_I've got a way of knowing_

_When something is right_

_I feel like I must have known you_

_In another life_

_'cause I felt this deep connection_

_When you looked in my eyes_

Blaine looked straight into Gemma's eyes at this, giving her an intense stare this time, causing her to look away with a blush.

_Now I can't wait to see you again_

The energy suddenly greatly increased as the vocalists backing Blaine broke out dancing behind him to the beginning of the chorus. He was rocking out on his own to the song now, feeling more energy in it than he had ever had in rehearsals.

_The last time I freaked out_

_I just kept looking down_

_I st-st-stuttered when you asked me what I'm thinking about_

_Felt like I couldn't breathe_

_You asked what's wrong with me_

_When all my friends said, "He loves being crazy,"_

_The next time we hang out_

_I will redeem myself_

_My heart can rest till then (a-whoa a-whoa)_

_Now I can't wait to see you again_

In a fight against himself, his rashness won and he pointed to Gemma as he sang this last line to her.

_I got this crazy feeling deep inside_

_When you called and asked to see me tomorrow night_

_I'm not a mind reader but I'm reading the signs_

_That you can't wait to see me again_

Blaine was pointing to himself now at this last line, trying to fight off a crazy grin that threatened to spread across his face.

_The last time I freaked out_

_I just kept looking down_

_I st-st-stuttered when you asked me what I'm thinking about_

_Felt like I couldn't breathe_

_You asked what's wrong with me_

_When all my friends said, "He loves being crazy,"_

_The next time we hang out_

_I will redeem myself_

_My heart can rest till then (a-whoa a-whoa)_

_Now I can't wait to see you again_

The crowd was really loving it, Gemma could see. They were dancing along to the beat of the song and getting into the performance. She had never seen anything like it.

_I got my sight set on you and I'm ready to aim_

Blaine made a little frame with his hands and was looking through them at Gemma, whom he noticed was really enjoying herself. She smiled and he saw that she had a dimple. It was all he could do to keep himself from dying of adoration.

_The last time I freaked out_

_I just kept looking down_

_I st-st-stuttered when you asked me what I'm thinking about_

_Felt like I couldn't breathe_

_You asked what's wrong with me_

_When all my friends said, "He loves being crazy,"_

_The next time we hang out_

_I will redeem myself_

_My heart can rest till then (a-whoa a-whoa)_

_Now I can't wait to see you again_

By this point, his hand was over his heart, thumping it to his chest in rhythm to the song.

_(a-whoa a-whoa)_

_Now I can't wait to see you again_

The song ended in the perfect harmony of vocals, receiving a thunderous applause from the now-tripled crowd that had stopped by to see the performance. All the Cardinals started high-fiving and shaking hands at this, and Blaine took the opportunity to separate himself from the group to talk to Gemma. However, in his way were his best friend, Alex, and Alex's girlfriend Lucy, who also happened to be a close friend of Blaine's.

"Man, that was awesome! Welcome back!" exclaimed Alex, giving Blaine a pat on the back. "You blew it out of the water this time; you're definitely keeping your spot now, after this."

"Thanks, I really felt it this time. Oh hey, before you guys leave you should really meet somebody," he said quickly and dragged them over to where Gemma was standing; she was now admiring the room once the music had stopped. "Gemma, these are my friends, Alex and Lucy. You guys this is Gemma, she's uh-new here."

"Nice to meet you," she replied politely. Before she knew it they were leading her out the door and down the hall to the cafeteria. "Where are we going? I should really go, go ahead without me," she kept saying.

"Gemma, it's okay. We're just getting some coffee. Do you want some? I'll buy," offered Blaine, which earned him a suspicious look from Alex, but that look went unnoticed by Gemma. "Oh," she said, "I thought you were—never mind." She glanced down, embarrassed. "I'd like some tea, then, if that's okay."

"Of course."

* * *

"So, are you going to tell us or are we going to have to resort to other methods?" asked Lucy once they had all gotten their drinks. Alex had gotten a frappe, Blaine chose black coffee, and she herself had gotten an iced latte. Gemma had a chai tea latte that she was all of a sudden very interested in the design on the cup. "We know. It's not that hard to figure out."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spy like that. Your group is very elusive on the internet, and I thought I could find out a bit more if I came here myself. I understa-"

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You could've just said so when you met us. We don't bite," said Alex encouragingly. But there was still a look on Gemma's face that none of them could really discern. They had seen it since the Cardinals' performance in the commons had ended, and it hadn't faded. In fact, it seemed to have grown stronger in the course of their discussion. Blaine noticed this and prompted the others to leave. "Guys, if you don't mind, I think I need to talk to Gemma privately for a moment." The others obliged with a slightly puzzled look on their faces.

"What's going on, Gemma? I can see it on your face, you can tell me," inquired Blaine gently. He would give anything to know what was causing this look of pain—that's what it was—on her face. He wanted to find the source of it and make it disappear for good.

"It's just that you guys are so popular here. A glee club, being popular," she said in half-belief. "I'd never thought to see anything like it in my life."

"Why? Isn't the glee club at your school well-liked?" Blaine asked suspiciously.

"It's the farthest thing from being popular. The entire music department at Greenwood is hated, and I'm caught in the middle of it," Gemma confessed.

Blaine began to understand. "Ah, the kids at your school are jealous." At this Gemma's face shot up to deny that statement. "No, they hate us. They think we're freaks."

"It's because they're jealous," Blaine restated. "Think about it. Does anybody outside of the music department have any real talent? Anything to be proud of?"

"No, I guess there isn't. But that doesn't explain it," she said desperately.

"Yes it does. Those kids are jealous because they don't have talent. They don't have anything about them that so much as stands out and they envy you for it," he explained. "Here in Westbrook, everybody has talent, so we all fit in. We all appreciate each other here."

Gemma considered this. The more she thought about it, the more she knew it to be true. "Well what can I do about it? It used to not bother me, but this year it's just been so hard! I don't know why I let it bother me, but it does. I can't just stop being who I am. I can't just turn it off when I want. Sometimes it's all that keeps me going. Sometimes I don't have anything that keeps me-" she broke off, looking down again.

"Hey." Blaine touched her hand that rested on the table, noticing her slight flinch, but he left it there. She needed someone right now that was going to be strong for her, and she needed to feel a gentle touch. "All you need is to be strong. Let nothing get you down. The most amazing thing you can ever do is to be yourself. There's nothing more badass than that. Strength gives you confidence, and once people see the confidence in you, they'll see what they're doing is wrong."

Gemma looked up at him with tears threatening to escape her eyes, full of gratitude for his comforting words.

"Listen, if you ever need anything, just give me a call. I'll be there," Blaine said, writing his number on the sleeve of his coffee cup, now empty. "Don't ever hesitate."

"Thank you."

* * *

That night, Gemma lay in her bed thinking about her day. She had tried so hard not to draw attention to herself until she accidentally collided with Blaine on the staircase. When they both looked up, the first thing she saw was warm, hazel eyes framed by thick, triangular eyebrows. On anybody else, they would have looked like caterpillars, but on him, well, they just fit. His dark hair was slicked with gel and he wore his uniform well. The navy blue blazer was cut perfectly and the color was just right for his skin tone, she noticed. His cream-colored trousers didn't have a wrinkle in them, and his tie was perfectly in place. She could only think of one word to describe him—dashing.

She tried to keep herself widening her eyes too much at his pure handsomeness. It was too good to be true that he was looking at her, talking to her, let alone interested in what she was saying. She brushed her blonde bangs out of her eyes and told him her name when he offered his. _Wow. I think I really like that name. Blaine._ She thought about how it sounded, and decided it was her new favorite male name. They continued to talk for a little until he mentioned that their glee club—the Cardinals—was popular. She stared at him in disbelief, until he grabbed her hand to lead her to the commons and away from the bustle of the staircase. When he put his hand on her back, she liked the strong feeling it gave her. It felt like she could do anything.

And the song. The song she would never picture a guy singing, blew her away. The talent of this group was insane, and their lead singer was no exception. He oozed charm when he sang and looked so comfortable with himself. She felt herself blush when he singled her out several times throughout the song, but she relished the fluttery feeling it sent through her stomach. This guy had nerve, and it was utterly adorable.

When he gave her those beautiful words of advice, she knew that she wouldn't stop thinking about this amazing guy for a long time. She considered herself to be the luckiest person on earth to have met Blaine that day. She fell asleep thinking about him and the way his eyebrow lifted up in a mischievous smirk when he sang that song. To her. For the first time since school started that year, she slept peacefully.

* * *

**Again, I just wanted to record my own fantasies of Blaine being a straight and dapper man. It's possible (but I totally ship Klaine. There's too many quality Klaine fics out there and I didn't want to tread those waters).**

**And I _don't_ want to write a RPF, those are just too creepy for their own good... So I won't be writing about Darren himself here.**

**The rest of the story has none of the other characters, just Blaine, and the beginning sort of follows Kurt's story. But only a little. The rest is my own.**

**Let me know where you want to see this to go!**

**Song is **_**See You Again **_**by Miley Cyrus...Bleh Miley but I needed a song that would fit, and this one did the trick...**

**More to come!**


	2. Changes

**I hope you liked the last chapter!**

**This one is a bit dark, just to warn you...**

**But it has it's fluffy moments:)**

**I own nothing**

* * *

The next week at school passed by with a blur, and Gemma felt herself renewing with energy and spirit after her time in Westbrook. She was actually talking regularly to Blaine, he had kept his promise of texting her after their meeting at his school. Every time her phone buzzed in her pocket, she couldn't wait to see if it was him when she could check her phone. If it wasn't, she was disappointed until she got a text from him shortly after. It cheered her up enormously.

Nearly everyone encountering Gemma had noticed this change in her, and they hoped it stayed with her. She looked happy, and recently, she hadn't been.

Mr. Jones noticed immediately, and didn't have to make the trip to the school counselor like he feared he would have to. He was glad to see Gemma be herself again.

However, one person just couldn't stand to see Gemma so happy. The more Danny Rees saw the light in her eyes, the more he wanted to extinguish it himself and relish the sight of her giving up. She didn't deserve to be who she was, nobody should be that exceptional. He waited outside the hall for her to come out of her class to assail her with jeering comments.

"Hey, bitch. Why don't you just stop that little act? Nobody likes to see that kind of stuff around here. You try too hard. Just stop while you're at it."

She stopped dead in her tracks, and Danny knew at that instant he had won. He turned and started walking down the hall in triumph. "Hey!"

The voice had come out of nowhere, but Danny ignored it and kept walking away. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Don't walk away when I'm talking to you!" Gemma stormed after him, angry at herself for letting him get to her. She followed him into an empty science classroom, letting the door slam behind her. "Why do you do this to me?" she walked up to him and was now right in his face. "Why do you make it your mission in life to make me so miserable?"

Danny sneered at her. "Why can't you just get it through your thick head that this isn't the type of place where you belong, huh? You think you're so high and mighty when you prance around singing and dancing and being perfect when everyone else has to work for it! Face it, you're just a self-centered bitch." At that last comment Gemma paled and she couldn't move. She believed it was true, that everyone hated her because she was a self-centered bitch. Her daze was broken by a text message. It was from Blaine.

_**I haven't heard from you today yet. Are you okay? Remember, strength-B**_

"Who's that?" spat Danny, as he smacked the phone from her hands. "No matter." An idea grew in his mind and he pushed her onto the table. He knew what he was going to do to get her to stop her act, this was going to shut her up for a while. "Now, if you know what's best for you, don't you dare make any noise." He suddenly forced himself on top of her and started to push his hands up her shirt.

Gemma whimpered in fear at this. Why was he yelling at her, and then the next minute he was all over her? It didn't make any sense and she started crying out. To shut her up, Danny stuffed his sleeve in her mouth and resumed his rough handling. She started to really cry and was still screaming through his sleeve in her mouth. He decided the only real way to shut her up. He had to hit her a few times before she finally rolled her eyes and went slack under him, knocked out.

Before she blacked out, all she could think of was Blaine's warm eyes gazing at her, his gentle touch that accompanied his words of advice, and that last text message to her. She wished with all her might that she could be strong, but Danny was a well known athlete and trained in martial arts. She figured that he could kill her if he wanted to. This last thought sent even more panic through her and she struggled more and louder, tears streaming in her pleading eyes to _stop, please stop._ Danny had had enough and was now hitting her, and as the darkness closed in on her vision, she could see Blaine's smile fading from sight.

Danny had ripped her shirt partially and was now working on her pants when the door opened and the teacher to that classroom walked in. He froze.

"What the _hell_ is going on here? I just came back to get my notes, and this?" said the chemistry teacher incredulously as he surveyed the scene. He walked over to where the boy was on top of the passed out girl on the table. Danny got down from the table instantly and ran from the room, cursing himself for getting caught. The chemistry teacher was about to chase the boy, but then he looked at the state of the half-clothed girl on the table. She was passed out with bruises already starting to form all over her. Her clothes were ripped open and her face was streaked with tears. She had a black eye and her nose was also bleeding. _Shit,_ the teacher thought. He ran over to the phone and called the office before he called 911.

The ambulance came without a noise, just flashing lights and the entire school looked on, wondering why on earth Gemma Blooms was being lifted into an ambulance on a stretcher, apparently knocked out, while the cause for all of this was now running through all the shortcuts to hide in his house. It was useless, of course. The teacher saw who it was and Danny Rees was expelled.

* * *

In all her life, Gemma never thought the bullying would reach this point. She had never given the thought that she could be sexually abused for her talent. She assumed Danny was trying to hurt her, silence her voice and keep her from shining ever again.

"No," she murmured in her drug-induced sleep. "No. I can't let you win." She felt a hand shake her shoulder and thrashed around frantically to stop Danny from taking over. "No!" she screamed.

"Gemma. Gemma, wake up!" said Gabe desperately. "Gemma, it's just a dream. You're safe, in the hospital." She finally went still, and opened her eyes slowly. Gabe was sitting in a chair next to her bed with his hand on her shoulder, a concerned look in his eyes. "How are you?"

"I-I think I'll be okay. I'm sorry I reacted like that. I thought I was back in that classroom again with…" she shuddered at the memory. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm here, and you're safe. From the looks of it, you'll never have to step foot in that school again."

Gemma shot up, "_What?_" Gabe gave her a gentle look. "Gemma, the school is afraid that something like that is going to happen to you again. They figured you would be happier if you weren't there anymore. You've been transferred to Westbrook."

Gemma couldn't believe it. She was being transferred to Westbrook? Now?

Gabe took in the shocked look at her face and explained further, "after Mr. Massie walked in on what happened, a bunch of other teachers mentioned other incidents of people bullying you. Westbrook has a strict anti-bullying policy. You'll never be like this again. God, Gemma, why didn't you tell any of us it was this bad? We could have all helped. We could have done something." He looked at his best girl friend with tears swimming in his eyes.

"No," she said coldly. "Nobody could have helped or understood. Nobody had a clue that something was up, let alone what to say, until…." She stopped short. "Gabe, dear, I know you're my gay best friend and all and this must be hard for you, but I really need to be alone right now. Please." Gabe looked at her pleading eyes and sighed. He got up from his chair and was about to leave the room before he remembered something. He tossed her cell phone on her bed. "They found this in that classroom on the floor," he mentioned and turned back to the doorway, but before he left he added, "please don't let something like this happen again without telling us. Promise me." Gemma promised him and Gabe left the room, closing the door behind him.

She reached out for the cell phone sitting at the foot of her bed. The crack on the screen was large, but she could still use the phone fine. Then she noticed the text that was still displayed on the screen, the one from Blaine. She held back tears as she thought how much she needed to hear his reassuring voice again. Dialing the number he gave her last week, she waited until he picked up. "Blaine?"

"Oh, hey Gemma! What's up? I was beginning to think you were ignoring me!" he said cheerfully. He had been watching movies in his dorm room with Alex and Lucy when he got the call from Gemma. He was excited to hear her voice; they had been texting all week until she called him just now.

When she didn't say anything, he got nervous. "Gemma, is everything all right? Why aren't you saying anything?" All she managed was, "Blaine, I've been attacked," before she couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

"Oh my god. Who did it? Where are you at? What did he do?" he asked all at once. She managed to get out short answers to his questions in between her sobbing before he told her to stay where she was, that he was on his way, and he hung up. He gathered his things so quickly; Alex and Lucy could hardly understand what he was saying in his frenzy to get to Gemma.

"GemmashurtImgoingovernow," was all they heard from him as he ran from the room and down through the dormitories they all lived in. They heard the slam of his car door, his engine growl to life and he sped off into the night to get to Amherst as quickly as he could.

* * *

Gemma, in the meantime, had drifted into a fitful sleep, and when she awoke, she found Blaine standing over her bed, a half-crazed look of concern on his face. She sighed with relief that he was finally there, and he sat down on her bed, arms outstretched. That was all she needed to collapse in his arms, violent sobs racking her body as she told him all of what happened.

"I'm gonna kill him," Blaine threatened. "No, you can't. He's been expelled," Gemma told him. He looked very angry after she told him the story. "Well, what are they going to do about this? It can't happen again!" He was certainly possessed now.

Gemma took a deep breath and told him the news, that she would be transferred to Westbrook. "Well that's great!" he exclaimed, a smile replacing the anger on his face. "I just don't get why they didn't notice anything sooner." Then it hit him. Gemma would be going to his school. _His school_. He could finally be around her all the time, instead of texting her or chatting on Facebook. "No matter. I know you'll love it there." He said finally.

"Thank you so much." They sat in silence for a few moments and Gemma drifted off to sleep, her eyelids fluttering to stay awake. "Go ahead and sleep, Gemma. It's been a long day, you need your rest," said Blaine softly. He took another look into her grateful eyes before they closed and she turned her head to the side. He got up and sat down in the chair across the room and picked up the magazine that lay on the table and started leafing through it. Periodically, he would glance up at Gemma to make sure she was still sleeping. Her tired body looked small compared to the excess of blankets and pillows that covered her bed, thanks to her friends from her own glee club. _Her only friends,_ he thought. _That's going to change. She's going to be great friends with everybody at Westbrook. She's already got a few._

The next thing he did surprised himself. He walked over to where she lay and stood next to her for a moment. Then he leaned down and brushed her hair out of her face, taking care not to wake her up. "Don't worry. I'll protect you. You'll always find a friend in me," he murmured softly, noting the small smile that crept across her face as she dreamed. He wondered if she had heard him or not. Straightening himself, he turned from her bed and set off towards the hospital cafeteria where the rest of her friends were eating lunch and introduced himself to them.

"Wow, you guys. I still can't believe you go to school here. It's like a castle!" Gemma said eating lunch in the cafeteria on her first day at Westbrook. This was the first time she actually looked around her and took in the ornate décor and architecture of the school. The previous time she was here was to spy, and she had only taken note of the talent of the Cardinals.

"Well, you get used to it. If you haven't noticed, Westbrook _is _a private school. Around here, everything is incredible," said Alex, who sat across from her. "Oh, by the way, come by Cardinal Hall later today at 5 to see what our practices are like."

"Cardinal Hall?" she questioned.

"It's where we sang when you were _spying_ on us," said Lucy.

"Oh." Now she understood. "Okay, I'll check it out. If I can get through the mountain of homework that already awaits me," she added sarcastically. "Seriously, how do you guys do it?"

"It gets easier after the first week or so, believe it or not," answered Blaine, sliding into the seat next to her. "Don't worry." He eyed her unfinished lunch and saw that she hadn't eaten her cherry pie. "Aren't you hungry?" he asked, a worried look flashing in his eyes.

"Not really. It's just the nerves from the first day. I'll be fine," she added quickly, noticing his worry. "I just need to get through it and I'll be fine."

Alex looked longingly at the slice of pie on her plate. Gemma saw this and placed it on his tray. "You can eat it, I was going to throw it away."

He was taken aback by this. "How could you- the pie-nobody-throw it away-arrgh!" he said, flustered. Clearly nobody throws away food here at Westbrook, at least Alex didn't. Gemma was a little surprised at this. "I guess I know who to give food to if I don't want it."

"He just doesn't like to see food go to waste, is all," explained Blaine. "Come on, why don't we all go to class now." Gemma looked around the lunchroom and saw that everybody had already gotten up to leave. She nodded in agreement and they all stood up and left the table. Blaine took her hand and pulled her aside, looking in her eyes again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, searching for something in her eyes to give anything away. Her barriers were up but he saw something flash in her eyes before she answered him. "Yeah. At least I am now. Strength, right?" she said, dropping his hands.

"Yeah, strength," he said looking down at his feet. He was disappointed that she wasn't telling him something, he could tell she was hiding something. He looked up at her again, but to find that she had disappeared from sight, already off to class. He was surprised by the empty feeling that left him standing there in the doorway of the lunchroom. _Come on, Blaine. Not now. She doesn't need this right now,_ he thought. He found himself missing her already, and cursed at his feelings that he was trying so hard to stifle as he moved on to class.

**Please review! It would make me a very happy girl if you did! :D**


	3. Fresh Starts

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing... If I did, then Darren Criss would be throwing me a birthday party. Too bad :(**

Cardinal Hall was like a palace, Gemma decided. The dark wood molding gleamed in the light that shone overhead, and the warm colors painted on the wall gave the room a comforting feel. The high, vaulted ceilings gave the room the feeling of a cathedral, despite its dark furnishings. The skylights in the ceilings brightened the room as the sun peeked out briefly from behind the swollen clouds outside that threatened rain. Books lined the shelves, and she saw that they were not actual books, but disguised folders that stored music, for she recognized the names on the spines as song titles.

She walked around the room, admiring the beauty of it now that she was utterly alone in it. Gemma had gone early to take a good look around Cardinal Hall before their rehearsal started, and was glad that she did. When she passed by the window, she had a sharp thought of her father, and wished that he could be here with her through all of this mess. He was one of the people that understood her and her music but he had died when she was ten. Without realizing it, she began singing the only song that could only begin to summate her feelings.

_You were once my warm companion, _

_You were all that mattered._

_You were once my friend and father,_

_Then my world was shattered._

_Wishing you were somehow here again,_

_Wishing you were somehow near._

_Sometimes it seemed, if I just dreamed,_

_Somehow the past would die._

Walking past the slightly ajar doors to Cardinal Hall, as it was dubbed, Mr. Richardson, the director of the Cardinals, heard an angelic voice drifting through the doors. He stopped dead in his tracks and backpedaled to the doors, where the voice was coming from. He peered in through the crack and saw a girl standing at the large window, gazing outside at the light rain that was beginning to fall and softly singing a song from Phantom of the Opera.

_Wishing I could hear your voice again,_

_Knowing that I never would._

_Dreaming of you won't help me to do,_

_All that you dreamed I could._

More people passing by stopped to see what Mr. Richardson was so mesmerized by, and they too, fell under the spell of Gemma's voice. Blaine and Alex were also walking by at that time and stopped. They tried to see whose voice it belonged to. They certainly didn't remember a girl in the Cardinals with a voice like that. As the song grew in passion and strength, Blaine looked up in full realization, eyes wide and backing away from the door, clearly stunned. "Whoa, I think—is that—?"

"Gemma? Yes it is, I can see her now," answered Alex.

_Passing bells and sculpted angels,_

_Cold and monumental._

_Seem for you the wrong companions,_

_You were warm and gentle._

She was still singing, a few tears rolling down her cheek.

_Too many years fighting back tears,_

_Why can't the past just die?_

_Wishing you were somehow here again,_

_Knowing we must say goodbye._

_Try to forgive, teach me to live,_

_Give me the strength to try._

She broke her gaze out the window and found her way over to the piano bench, sitting down slowly, absorbed in her sorrowful reverie.

_No more memories, no more silent tears,_

_No more gazing across the wasted years._

_Help me say goodbye,_

_Help me say goodbye._

She held out that last note with a pleading look towards the heavens, as if asking for a reason why she had to be singing like this. The mournful song still hung electrified in the air until Mr. Richardson broke the silence. "Well I think we can all agree that that was—wow."

She turned around quickly and saw that the doorway was filled with students clamoring to get inside to her. "That song there has earned you a spot on the Cardinals, I should think," said Mr. Richardson.

"But I didn't even audition, I don't even know if I…" she trailed off. "Miss Blooms, am I right?" She nodded in confirmation. "After hearing that, you don't even need an audition. You've got the spot."

"Oh. Okay then, if you really want me in the group." And with that she was mobbed by all the people from the doorway, congratulating her and wishing her good luck in the future. Blain and Alex finally came up to her, both with stunned expressions. Alex was the first to snap out of it. "Wow, I had no idea you could sing. I mean, we all figured you could sing, but just wow. Like that. Wow," he said again. Gemma laughed, thanking him, and turned to look at Blaine, who still had a look of incoherence on his face.

"I-I- uh, I mean that was beautiful. No wonder the kids at Greenwood were like that," he finally said softly.

She nodded thanks with a sad smile on her face. "But I'm here now, and that's all that matters. You said it yourself that this school has a lot of talent. I should fit in okay, then, huh?"

All Alex and Blaine could do was nod in agreement. Then Alex got a mischievous look on his face. He turned to Lucy, who had just showed up beside him and said to her, "You know what this means, right?" Lucy got that same look on her face and whispered the secret to Blaine, who instantly said, "No, absolutely not. She's just getting settled, no!"

"Absolutely not to what?" asked Gemma.

"They want you to move into Waldorf," said Blaine. When she still had that look of confusion on her face, he clarified. "Our boarding house, Waldorf Hall. It's the only co-ed dorm because all the Cardinals and other music students that board here live there. It makes sense because of rehearsal schedules. But you're just getting used to Westbrook; you don't need to get more confused."

"Blaine?" Gemma looked tired. "I've uprooted my entire life to go here. I think I can live with boarding here. I mean it makes sense because sooner or later, my mom won't be able to pay for gas any longer."

"Oh." He smiled at her. "So then that means you're moving into Waldorf?" They all looked at her expectantly.

"I guess so," she finally answered.

"Ooh this is great!" squealed Lucy. "I need a new roommate and I can tell that you and I are going to be great friends!" She looked so excited, Gemma couldn't turn her down even if she wanted to.

* * *

They led her to the giant double doors outside of the Waldorf House, and opened the doors to reveal the inside of the common rooms. To the left, a great staircase wound up to the upper levels of the dorm and the kitchen doors could be seen just beyond the extent of the luxurious commons. Gemma could only imagine what the rest of the house would look like. Blaine saw her with her mouth gaped wide open, and took her hand and squeezed it. "Feeling better?" he asked her, but he knew the answer already. He could see it plainly in her eyes. She turned to face him, a little surprised that he was holding her hand, but she squeezed back and said, "Yes. Much better."

Alex and Lucy noticed the look that passed between them and interrupted the stare by grabbing Gemma to show her around. They took her upstairs after they let her see the first floor, and showed her where their rooms were. Alex opened the door to a room that lay near the end of the hall on the third floor. "This is the room that Blaine and I share."

Gemma looked inside and noticed that half of the room was neat and in order, while the other half….wasn't. It was covered in clothes, empty cups, sheets of paper, and books scattered all over the place. "Alex is the messy one. He hasn't realized yet that other people have to live with him. He was raised by pigs," Blaine clarified. Alex looked a little sheepish and quickly turned Gemma's attention to the room across from his and opened that door. "This is your new room. You'll be sharing with Lucy."

She looked inside and took a breath. It was perfect. All of the rooms she had seen so far was nothing compared to her new room. Of course, it had the same layout as all the others, with three raised areas intended for sleep, study, or recreation. The two smallest of the three such areas were nestled beside each other on one side of the room, with a small set of steps separating the two. Each of the platforms on this side had a single bed, a nightstand, and a desk that sat near the edge of the bed. Next to each desk sat shelves for books. On the other side of the room was the third dais. A large, roomy couch dominated the platform, with a cozy coffee table and a large, flat-screen TV facing the couch.

But the difference was in the colors and decorating touches that had been added to the room. Each room had a creamy wall color that was neutral with just about anything, but the colors present in the design of the room and furniture made it look as if someone had professionally designed the room. The thick curtains that lined the windows were a pale, silvery blue, and the couch was a grey leather. The bedspreads were a dark aqua in contrast to the light, breathy feel of the room. The vases that were displayed on various tables in the room were like mosaics of mirrors, catching the light wherever it found some. Freshly cut mums sat in each vase.

Gemma looked over at Lucy, who stood nervously next to her. "Is it too much?" asked Lucy. "Sometimes I go a little overboard with designing; I want to do some interior design someday," she said.

"It's perfect," said Gemma. "Exactly how I would do it."

Lucy sighed her relief and plopped down over on her bed. "Good. Now all that's missing is your stuff!"

"Oh, that can be arranged," said Gemma happily.

* * *

"Wow, when you said this school was rich, you weren't kidding," said Karyn, Gemma's mom, as they pulled up to the Waldorf Hall parking lot. Gemma's belongings sat in boxes in the trunk of the SUV and they sat in the car for a moment. "Let's go, mom. I want you to meet some of my new friends," said Gemma quickly, breaking the awkward silence that hung in the car. They weren't poor, but they certainly weren't rich; a lot of strings had to be pulled to pay for Gemma's tuition to go here, and she felt it was a sore subject to talk to her mom about.

"Honey, money's not an issue, you know. Whatever you need, we'll get it somehow. I don't want you to feel out of place here," said Karyn knowingly. "I want you to know you can talk to me about anything, aside from the money thing."

Gemma sat uncomfortably. "Okay, thanks, mom. But I really want you to see the rest of this." She opened the door and got out of the car and started to take the stuff out of the trunk. She was met by the small force of people from Waldorf Hall, including Alex and Lucy, the tall, blonde brother and sister twins that she met the day before, their names were Jesse and Jamie, the slight, brown- haired Jeff from the Cardinals whom she learned played a mean guitar as well, and Blaine, who had just walked up to join the crew. He looked a little flustered, but she didn't comment on it. She was just flattered that they all wanted to help.

"Wow, thanks you guys. You really don't have to help. My mom and I can take care of it, you know," Gemma insisted. They looked crestfallen. They had really wanted to help and welcome her to her new home at Waldorf. Karyn saw the looks on their faces and piped in, "Of course you guys can help. A little extra elbow grease is always welcome."

Their faces brightened considerably. "Hey, you can't get rid of us all that easily," said Blaine, walking up to Mrs. Blooms and introducing himself. "You must be Mrs. Blooms, I'm Blaine. Gemma's taken quite well to Westbrook here, and everybody has taken to her, too."

Karyn looked at him with a whole new perspective now that he had introduced himself. So this was Blaine. She had to hand it to her daughter; she had quite a taste for handsome young men, and he was so polite! "You can call me Karyn. I've heard a lot about you, and I'm so thankful that you've been here the whole time for Gemma. All of you, really," she said, turning her gaze over to the other teenagers standing behind Blaine. "I can't begin to thank you all enough for what you've done for her."

"You can start by letting us take her stuff inside," said Lucy.

"Right," said Karyn. "Let's get it started, then."

* * *

When the last box was unpacked, and everything was put in its new and rightful spot, Gemma heard a light, polite knock on the door. "Come in," she called to the person standing on the other side.

"Wow, it seems that when you get your mind to it, you really get things done," noted Blaine as he opened the door and looked over the now-complete room. It was missing something before, but now that touch was ever-present in everything Gemma brought to it.

She turned around at the sound of his voice, smiling to see him standing there. "You can come in if you want, the mess is gone," she said to him.

"Actually, no. I can't come in," he said, and he saw her face fall. He quickly said, "Not because I'm not allowed, I just want to show you something." He went over to stand behind her and put his hands over her eyes. "Come with me."

Gemma was a little surprised to feel his hands covering her eyes, and she didn't quite like the fact that she wouldn't be able to see where she was being led, but she decided to go with it. "I don't know, can I trust you to not lead me to my demise on the staircase or something?" she asked, jokingly.

Blaine took his hands off her eyes and turned her around to face him. "Of course you can trust me. I don't want you to question..." He was cut off by her giggling, "Blaine, I was joking. Don't take things so seriously! And I do trust you, you know," she added. She smiled again, and this time she picked up his hands and put them on her eyes herself. "Lead away," she said dramatically, with a flourish of her arm.

She didn't see the look of happiness that crossed his face when she picked his hands up or the joy he felt at being so close to her. But maybe she was too preoccupied in feeling the same thing to notice.

"As you wish, your majesty," quipped Blaine. And her led her down the hall to the staircase and took her carefully down until they reached the common room on the first floor. "Alright, 3, 2, 1."

At one, he uncovered her eyes and she saw that the common room was covered in party decorations. A 'Welcome Gemma' banner hung on the stairwell above, and a cake sat temptingly on the table near the kitchen. Everyone from the Cardinals was standing crowded around her and some other people were there, too, that she recognized from the music department and around the halls of Waldorf.

She was clearly touched. Happy tears welled in her eyes and she faced her friends that all stood beside her. "Wow, you guys. This is just—wow. I don't think I can begin to say thank you enough. Did you do this all?" she asked.

They were all relieved that she liked their efforts so much, and Alex answered her question. "Yeah, we did this all. But actually it was Blaine's idea. He thought you should have a proper welcome to Waldorf and Westbrook. You should really be thanking him."

Gemma turned to Blaine and did what she had been wanting to do the whole day in return for his thoughtfulness. She threw her arms around him in a giant hug that thanked him for everything he had done for her. Not just the day in general, but every bit of kindness he had shown since they met seemed to go into that one hug. Blaine seemed a little startled at the closeness of her hug, but then he hugged back as if to reciprocate her thanks.

Everyone there wanted to be a part of that hug, so they all joined in, hugging everything tighter. Gemma didn't mind that that brought her closer to Blaine. Instead, she whispered a quiet, "Thank you," in his ear and turned her head to his chest from the force of everybody joining in on the hug. Blaine rather liked the way she fit perfectly to him, and felt his spirits drop slightly when everyone released the hug, and she drew away from him to converse with everyone else. Alex saw the flux in Blaine's demeanor and leaned over to him.

"Well, man, it didn't take very long. You are completely and terribly under her spell. All I want to know, my friend, is what you're going to do about it."

Blaine dropped his gaze at Gemma, who was now across the room talking to Jaime and Jesse and looked at his friend. "I am not," he denied. "I'm just showing her around the place. She needs someone to do that, and that's what I'm here for," he stammered out.

"Drop the act, Blaine. I see the way you look at her. I know what you're thinking, and if that kid hadn't have gotten to her, you'd be blowing down the door to get in her bed. Admit it," said Alex bluntly. "You don't need to hide it from your friends. We can see through it. And I really, _really_ don't want to keep hearing See You Again on loop. It was okay when you sang it, but that Miley voice really is hideous. I can't deal with hearing that song one more time." Alex saw the taken aback look on Blaine's face, and asked him quietly, "When did you start feeling this way?"

Blaine sighed, and figured it was no use hiding it from Alex. He was his best friend, after all, and felt bad now that he had to endure that song on repeat. "It started the first day we met. I looked into her eyes, and fell a little that first time. But then I heard her story and felt like I needed to comfort her, so I put those feelings aside. And when that _Danny_," he said, fists clenching at his sides, the venom predominant in his voice, "Did _that _to _her_, I was furious. I wanted to kill that kid. But again, I knew I could only be her support. It hurt to have to hide my attraction for her." His voice softened considerably, "And then I heard her singing that song in Cardinal Hall. The way the sunlight shone on her face and hit her eyes, she just looked so beautiful, like an angel. The song made my knees go weak, and I knew that I wasn't the same after that."

Alex whistled low at Blaine's confession. "You've got it bad. Worse than I thought, actually. But going back to what I said, what are you going to do about it? You can't just not do anything after a confession like that."

"That's exactly what I intend to do, nothing." He looked at Alex's astonished face. "Just hear me out. She really just needs a friend. After what happened to her, she might be afraid of a guy doing that to her. She doesn't need my advances. And she only thinks of me as a friend. I can't imagine what she would do if she found out how I feel. I don't want to ruin our friendship that only really just started." The look on Blaine's face spoke the truth and Alex knew to back off; he didn't want to make Blaine angry.

"Alright then. Just don't come to me when you're so miserable that she's not yours and you didn't make a move," said Alex as he walked away shaking his head. He knew his friend was stubborn, but he just wished that Blaine would see his mistake before Gemma got mixed signals and get confused. Because he could see that she liked Blaine a lot—a lot more for someone who was 'just a friend' to her (as much as Blaine wanted to repress their friendship)—and Alex wanted to see his new friend happy. And he decided that no matter if Blaine was his best friend, he would try to see that Gemma stayed happy, especially around Blaine. He knew that she always brightened up whenever he walked into the room or there was some mention of him, and he would come down on Blaine if her feeling like that ever went away. He wanted to see both of his friends happy, and if that meant that they should be together, then he would do all it took, and involve everybody he could on his plan.

The party lasted well into the night, and morning crept up fast. One by one, everybody returned to their rooms until nobody was left in the commons, save for the few people who hadn't made it to

* * *

their rooms and were nearly passed out on the couches. They all awoke to their alarms and hit the snooze button a few times to sleep in a little longer after their night of partying. When Gemma rolled over and opened her eyes to look at her alarm clock, her eyes widened as she saw what time it was and shot out of bed and straight into the shower to get ready.

After she was done preparing for the day, she went back into the room to find Blaine sitting on Lucy's bed with his legs crossed and his hands folded over his knees, looking up at Gemma, trying to fight back a laugh that was succeeding over him. "Okay, I don't know how people can hold that pose. I feel so stuffy doing that! Anyways, I was going to wake you up, seeing that your roommate had already left, but then I heard you in the shower. So I waited here. Let's go to breakfast," he said cheerfully, _a little too cheerfully_, Gemma noted, for it being so early in the morning. Then she realized why he was being so goofy: he heard her singing in the shower.

"Oh my gosh, did you hear me singing?" she asked, blushing scarlet. "Oh god, that's embarrassing."

Blaine considered her embarrassment, and laughed. "Oh, your voice was fine, I just didn't expect to hear you singing that, especially since it had been done so wonderfully by yours truly," he said, standing up and walking over to the door. He leaned over to where she was standing, still blushing, and added, "…but I think you did Ms. Cyrus justice…" which only intensified her blushing even more. He left the room and was halfway down the hall when he turned around and called out, "Well, aren't you coming to breakfast?"

Gemma snapped out of her shock that lingered from the realization that he had heard her singing, and collected her bag from the chair in the corner and rushed out of the room to join him on the way to breakfast. She noticed with another blush that Blaine was humming the song quietly to himself, perhaps thinking she wouldn't hear him, or perhaps he wanted her to hear. The answer to that, Gemma didn't even pretend to know, for she liked the fact that Blaine always kept her guessing.

**Song is Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from the Phantom of the Opera:)**

**Still more to come! And reviews are appreciated!**


	4. Movie Night

**Whoo! It's time for another update...I own nothing:)**

Gemma was not the only one at the breakfast table to feel the effect of the late-night party. Alex and Jesse were nursing headaches due to their excessive drinking of booze that someone had managed to sneak in. They now had their heads resting on the cool table when Gemma and Blaine approached. Blaine looked at Gemma with his finger to his lips, the gesture telling her to stay quiet, and then he slammed his fist down on the table that sent Alex and Jesse nearly a foot into the air, hands over their ears with pain written in their faces. "Ahhhhh!"

Blaine looked at them coolly. "So I see you guys had a little too much to drink last night. Or is it the fact that it's before seven in the morning and it's so hard to wake up? I would very much like to believe the latter, but why don't you tell me yourselves?" He smirked at them, waiting for an answer.

"Don't. Talk. To. Me," said Alex slowly, hoping those words sounded as venomous as he intended. Instead, they had the opposite effect, since it sent the entire table reeling with laughter, minus Jesse, of course, who shared in his predicament.

"You know you really should have laid off the drink after the first couple; you got a bit sloppy the more you drank," said Lucy showing disgust at her boyfriends behavior the night before. She was not as amused as the rest of the table, and it was clearly painted on her face.

"I don't care," Alex retorted, putting his face in his hands. "I don't really want to be reminded of the things I did under the influence of that god awful stuff."

"All the evidence we can use against you…" trailed Blaine, a mischievous sparkle in his eye.

Alex's face paled as he looked up to face Blaine. He gulped and his eyes widened. "Evidence?" he asked feebly.

"Yeah, you and-" Blaine stopped, reconsidering this. "You know what? I'm not going to tell you. I think we'd all _much_ rather see you squirm." He flashed a wink at Gemma, who was giggling during the whole exchange. She immediately stopped, blushed, and turned her head aside, hair falling in her face. Blaine thought it was an adorable gesture, but he felt bad for making her uncomfortable. He had told himself that he would stop with the flirting, but here he was, and this wasn't the first incident of the day.

He thought back to earlier that morning when he had finished getting ready himself, then knocked on Gemma and Lucy's door to make sure they were up and ready. When he didn't hear anything after knocking several times, he turned the knob slowly, careful not to walk into anything potentially embarrassing for both himself and anyone in the room. The door opened, and both the beds were empty, he noticed. That was strange, he thought, because he hadn't heard anything from their room to suggest they were both already up. He looked around, wondering where Lucy and Gemma had gone, when he finally noticed the sound of running water coming from the en-suite bathroom.

He widened his eyes and turned to leave, but then he heard humming coming from the shower. It sounded familiar, and then the humming turned into soft singing. Instantly, he recognized the song and the voice singing it, and chuckled to himself, returning to one of the beds in the room. He sat down and waited for the singer to finish with her shower, and quickly arranged himself into that ridiculous manner that Gemma walked in on.

He felt a little bad for making her blush like that, but it was harmless teasing, he reasoned. And he liked the cute way she reacted when he said things like that. As they walked down to breakfast together, he couldn't help humming the song he sang to her the first day they met. _No,_ he told himself,_ he hadn't sung it _to_ her. She only happened to show up right before that performance. And thank god she did show up, _he thought, _because otherwise, I wouldn't be singing at Regionals._ That performance had gone so well, Mr. Richardson put all reservations aside at having Blaine as their leading man, and granted him the privilege of being that at Regionals. And if they did well at Regionals, then he might get to keep his spot for nationals, which he had been dreaming of since he first joined the group two years ago.

He had no regrets in joining the group, grateful to have something to throw his energy into after his ordeal from his other school. The Cardinals was all he could count on until he got his bearings at Westbrook, and he spent hours in Cardinal Hall, playing music to himself until he forgot everything he had come to forget. When Mr. Richardson offered him his first chance at leading the group, Blaine jumped on it, for the first time realizing his dreams of making it big through music. Music was everything to Blaine. His parents had supported him nearly all his life, and transferring to Westbrook was supposed to mark a new chapter in his life, but instead it sort of focused on everything he was forced to fun away from. Despite what his parents believed, he was finding success where they least thought he would end up, and he had no intentions of them finding out...

"Blaine? Earth to Blaine!" said Lucy, waving an impatient hand over his face, snapping him back to reality. "Breakfast is over."

"Huh? Oh! Right," he said, standing up and straightening out his already wrinkle-free uniform. It was sort of a nervous habit that Gemma had already noticed about him, and she stored it away with all the tidbits she was starting to collect about her new friend. Like the fact that he always wore his hair slicked back, or that his room was neat and tidy, just like his personality, and the way she felt like melting when he turned his warm, hazel eyes on her and smiled at her. He was serious at the little things, but he still had the ability to joke with his friends. He was a caring person, and Gemma found herself lucky to have befriended him on the staircase that first day at Westbrook.

With one last look at her friends at the table, Gemma got up and announced that if she wasn't on time to class, surely her English teacher would pile on yet another essay, and left the table.

* * *

Gemma sat in her room, intent on finishing her pile of homework before the night crept up too quickly on her. She was putting the last touches on an essay, when Lucy barged in, startling Gemma. Her concentration now broken by her roommate, she asked her why she was so obnoxiously bursting into the room for.

"Movie night tonight," she said, breezing by. "You're coming down to watch with us. We have one once a month, on a Friday night, and this is your first. You're _not_ missing it," she said, already seeing the protest rising on Gemma's lips.

Defeated, Gemma went downstairs to the commons where a large film screen was set up amidst the chairs and couches. Confused as to where the movie screen came from, Gemma asked Lucy, who replied, "With both the Head Boy and Girl obsessed with movies, some strings can be pulled." She saw the question on Gemma's face, and answered once more: "Blaine and I are heads of the house. Seeing as we're both the most responsible, we get those privileges. Ahh, if only the dean knew how much we let slide…" she said fondly. Gemma already knew that each house was very protective of their inhabitants and traditions. No matter how much trouble or how obnoxious your housemates were, you still defended them.

"Hey, Gemma, come on over, I saved a spot for ya!" said Blaine, patting the seat cushion next to him. On his other side sat Jesse, who was talking to Alex. They were all waiting for somebody to pop in the first movie and were arranging themselves and getting popcorn ready so snack on as they watched the movies for the night.

Gemma smiled and moved to where Blaine sat on the couch. He looked up at her, "Come on, I don't bite!" motioning once again to the spot beside him to his left. She looked at the empty spot, and then decided to sit down after all. She was glad, actually that he had thought so save a seat for her; all the empty places on the cushy couches were filling up fast and she wouldn't have been able to pluck up the courage to ask to sit next to anyone else.

"What movie are we all watching?" she asked, once she settled down—not too close to Blaine, she respected personal space, after all.

"Ah, but the question is what _movies_ we're watching. Everyone is feeling a little restless today so they really wanted to watch two movies. Or they just couldn't agree which one they wanted to watch. You choose which version you want to believe…" he said playfully. "I guess the verdict for the first movie is _Paranormal Activity_, though. Not my first choice, but I guess since it's close to Halloween we better watch a scary movie, huh?"

Gemma just gulped. "A scary movie?" she stammered. "Uh, Blaine, I think you should know that I don't really like scary movies, I'm really jumpy." She looked at him, and he saw her anxiousness.

"Hey, don't worry. I've seen this movie before; I'll tell you all the scary parts before they happen. It won't be that bad," he reassured her. She nodded, still looking a bit shaken. For the first time, her noticed the gap that separated them on the couch. _Ouch,_ he thought. _I guess she just wants to be friends then._ He looked a little sad—he was sure he saw some sort of spark in her eyes earlier that month the day after her welcoming party. After his talk with Alex, he thought about her some more, and decided to let whatever direction their friendship take him where it would go. And it seemed to him that it wasn't really going anywhere, at the time being. He was a bit disappointed. He figured Alex was right, after all, and that he should start to act on his feelings. He just didn't want to turn her away. It had been almost a month since Gemma had transferred, and their friendship had still grown stronger. He liked to flirt with her, and to see her bite her lip when he said something a little embarrassing. _Gosh, her lips look delicious,_ he mused, and then shook his head, slightly horrified at what he was thinking about, tearing his gaze from her pink lips, which he had begun to think about more often in the past few days. _Calm down bud, she only wants to be friends._ He looked at her again, the same look of anxiety on her face, and he patted her knee. "You'll be fine," he said to her as the lights flicked from brightness to dark. The movie was beginning.

"Alright," Blaine started, "you see the door there, watch for a shadow, something's going to happen." Gemma just nodded again quietly, but he noticed some of the fear had left her eyes. He smiled a little more, happy that he had succeeded in calming her down, if only slightly. She only started a little when the really scary events happened. It helped to have Blaine warning her of everything to come so she wouldn't be so afraid. She appreciated this gesture.

He turned to her near the end of the movie. "Um, I can tell you probably won't like this part, so you might want to close your eyes when it gets a little gory," he forewarned. She didn't seem to notice, though. It was as if she had fallen into a trance and nothing could shake her. Blaine shrugged and sat back, turning to the movie once more. But then the gory part came on, and Gemma shrieked a little, grabbed his hand, and covered her eyes with the other. Blaine was just as rattled, but by the sudden contact she initiated. He knew it was out of fear though, but he squeezed her hand to tell her it was okay, that the moment had passed and the movie was over.

She peeked her eyes open to find the TV screen gone blue, and everybody was yawning a little. But they still had to watch the other movie, so Alex got up to replace the DVD in the player and started the next movie. Gemma then noticed she was still holding Blaine's hand in a vice-like grip. She quickly let it go and smoothed her skirt out, slightly reddening. "Sorry about that. I was actually getting into the movie and it startled me. I really don't like the bloody stuff."

"It's fine," said Blaine casually. "That really wasn't so bad though, wasn't it?" he asked her.

"No, it wasn't," she agreed. They sat in silence watching the beginning scenes of the next movie, laughing at the appropriate times. It was _Hot Rod_, some movie about a kid who dreamed of being a stuntman. It was turning out to be quite a funny movie; somebody had brought it out of nowhere and most of them were watching it for the first time.

Gemma didn't know when she started to drift off. After all, it _had _been a long day, she had spent forever doing the last of her homework before the weekend started, wanting to enjoy her first full weekend without very much homework and figured it could be better to get it all done that night. All she could faintly remember was fighting to stay awake during the movie, but her head kept rolling back and her eyelids just felt so heavy. And besides, the back of the couch felt so comfy, oh, that was Blaine's arm instead, where did that come from, never mind, it's really comfy, and before she knew it, her eyelids slid shut and she really was asleep.

After a while, her head rolled from its spot on Blaine's arm, and it came to rest on his shoulder. He was starting to fall asleep himself but jumped awake a little when her head rested on him. He looked at her sleeping face and smiled to himself in the darkness. He glanced at the movie, which wasn't even halfway finished, and looked back over at Gemma's peaceful slumber. He adored the sight of her head resting on him—a feeling he didn't want to let go of—and went back to falling asleep himself.

Two hours later, Gemma woke to the sounds of people stirring awake from napping during the movie. She felt warm and comfortable; _such a great feeling_, she thought, and then she opened her eyes widely when she remembered where she was. She had fallen asleep on Blaine and was half plastered to him, and he was still sleeping. She looked at him, shocked that she let herself fall asleep like that, and he opened his eyes.

"Hey," he said sleepily, and yawned. "I guess we all kind of missed that second movie, huh?" he whispered, because only a few people were fully awake at that point. He saw the mark on her face that his shirt made, and thought it looked so cute on her. She would probably throw a fit if she knew her face had any mark like that on it, so he didn't tell her. He didn't want her to get up just now, since he felt so nice and warm from their close proximity.

She caught him looking at her again, and she sat up straighter, stretching. "Well I think I better get some proper sleep. I'm going home tomorrow and I have a huge day planned with Gabe and Amber," she said feigning excitement to cover up her embarrassment. She hoped nobody else saw that. "I'll see you?"

"Yeah," was all he said, and she was off to her room on the third floor. He watched after her, wondering how someone like her could make him feel so far from being put together.

* * *

Gemma's alarm sounded at ten o' clock. She sat up groggily and looked around the room. She noticed that Lucy had already left for the weekend. Her side of the room was neat and clean, put away for her absence the next two days. Lucy usually waited to leave until later in the day—she liked to get her beauty sleep, she said—but today she was gone long before Gemma was up. Gemma sighed at the empty room. Usually, her and Lucy would hang out and talk before they left for home, but Gemma understood that Lucy was doing her own thing, too.

She rolled over to face her night stand and picked up her phone that lay charging next to the clock. _1 new message_, it said.

**I had to leave early again this weekend. Sorry I couldn't stick around, but my parents like to get early starts to our limited time together. I promise we'll hang out when I get back! :) –B**

Gemma sighed again. She wanted to hang out with him sometime over the weekend, but he was always off at his parents' house the entire time. And he came home too late to hang out; it was usually past eleven when he returned, so she would already be trying to get some sleep for the next day at school.

Here, Gemma was actually sleeping well. No more nightmares of people taunting her, of not fitting in, because there at Westbrook, everybody actually liked her. They welcomed her as one of them—not to mention she well deserved it (she was multi-talented), but they wanted to get to know her and be her friend—and that soothed her sleeping problems for good. She now looked rested all the time (unless she spent all night working on an essay or project), and she was always in a good mood.

Her good mood wasn't broken by her friend's absences; however, she would be spending all day shopping with her Greenwood best friends. They had been meaning to get together, but with the amount of homework Gemma had, she hadn't even left the dorms for her need to finish the work. So this was the first time she would be seeing them in over a month, since transferring to Westbrook.

She packed her overnight bag and was ready to go shortly. After she put her stuff in her car, she was on her way back to Amherst. They had planned to meet at the mall, so when she pulled up, she saw their cars in the parking lot already. She hurried to the food court to meet Gabe and Amber there, and once she spotted them, they both made a dash for each other, saying how much they missed each other and scolding Gemma for not staying in touch as often as they wanted her to.

"You have to tell us _everything_ you've been up to," said Gabe, bursting with happiness. They were best friends, and things haven't been exactly the same without her around. "Come on, dish!"

Smiling, Gemma told them everything that went on since she had gone away to school in Westbrook. Of how she was so welcomed into the system, of her new friends, of her classes, and lastly with a little hesitation, of her accidental audition to the Cardinals. She knew that they would be hurt now that they would be competing against each other at Regionals—after all, only one group could move on to nationals. They knew from her stories how good the Cardinals were, and were rightly worried about their chances. But what they didn't know was how worried Gemma felt to be competing against _them_. They were good. Really good. The Cardinals' chances at making at to Nationals were just as slim as Greenwood Glee's were. Both groups knew they had to bring it to the next level to move on.

"So, how's that guy, Blaine was it? The one from the hospital? How's he?" said Gabe slyly. He and Amber both wanted the scoop at how suddenly an extremely handsome guy just shows up at the hospital to comfort Gemma. They were happy to meet him when he introduced himself, they didn't really know much about him, aside from the fact that he went to Westbrook, he was rich, and was the leader of the Cardinals. They wondered how he and Gemma became friends in the first place.

"Oh no! Is that why you guys arranged this day? To find out more about Blaine?" she moaned. "Lucy already gives me enough grief about it; I don't need you guys to rub it in too!"

"Rub it in?" said Amber, her eyebrows raised in question. "Gemma, who is this guy, really? I mean, we hardly know him, and you say your roommate is giving you grief about him. Do you like him or something?"

Gemma's head sank to the table they were sitting at. "Mmmph," she mumbled.

"What was that?" asked Gabe, laughing.

She looked up at them both, her face screwed up in defeat.

"Yes," she said, tiredly. Gabe and Amber just looked at each other in triumph before assailing Gemma with endless questions about Blaine. "Does he like you back? When did you first start liking him? What is he like, in general? What was it like when you guys met?" They could hardly spit out the questions when they thought of new ones to ask her, and they continued until Gemma held up her hand to stop them from talking.

"I am going to answer the questions one at a time, and I am not going to answer each question, because frankly, I don't even know some of the answers myself…." She brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and began to speak.

"…the day we met, I was checking them out, like you asked me to Gabe," she looked at him; he nodded, waiting for her to continue. "He was just so…handsome. And perfect. And so kind…. Then I heard him sing. It was amazing. Afterwards, I had some coffee with him and Alex and Lucy. They were so nice, and then I thought about how much we're hated at Greenwood. I guess he noticed something was up and asked me about it. He was interested in why I didn't seem happy, and I don't know, I just _needed_ that. So I told him everything. And he was so nice about it all, and after that, we kept talking. And I'm so sorry, Gabe, for throwing you out of my room at the hospital. I—I just needed to talk to him, because I shared that with him, and I thought he wouldn't forgive me if I didn't go to him after something like that. He thought I was asleep, but before he left, he told me that he would protect me…

"And then I started going to Westbrook. He was there for me, and arranged this huge welcoming party for me when I moved in. It was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me. And I think that was when I really did fall for him." Gemma omitted the events from the night before; she was still questioning what it really meant.

"He's just so sweet, and composed. He has class. He loves music. He's funny. He loves his friends. He's forgiving."

Amber and Gabe just sat there, smiling. They were so happy to see Gemma so animated when talking about someone. "Well, there's a question you haven't answered yet. Does he like you back?" inquired Amber.

"The truth is, I really don't know. I mean, he does everything a friend does. We text a lot, we joke, we eat together, just like all of us there. But then sometimes, I really wonder if there's something more. Sometimes, when our eyes meet, there's just something _there._ But then it's gone as soon as it comes. I just really don't know." She looked at them, a sad smile in her eyes, "I'm sorry I can't give you guys a real answer to that. I really need to think about that more. Because if he doesn't like me like that, I'm afraid it will ruin the great friendship we already have. And I think I'm okay with the way our friendship is."

Gabe reached across the table and squeezed Gemma's hand. "For now, all you need is to be happy. And if you can be happy with being friends, then were happy for you." Gemma smiled back at him.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way," started Amber, "it's time to shop!" With that, she grabbed Gabe and Gemma and they went off in search of their favorite stores.

**Some progress, huh?**

**As always, tell me what you think! Review, or leave a message in my ask box on tumblr if you have a question or comment:)**

**Next update: Halloween o.o What will people dress up as? Hmmmm you'll just have to stay tuned to find out**


	5. Discoveries

**Party! Let's just say that Waldorf is very popular...I still own nothing**

* * *

It was Halloween, and the residents of Waldorf were throwing a party. Needless to say, one must dress up for said occasion, and use creativity when designing their costume. This was the one of the few parties of the year when everybody was invited, and it was held in the school gymnasium. Waldorf always threw the party, since they were the main entertainment—the Cardinals and other musicians had a lot of influence—and the rest of the school loved a good party, especially when all they had to do was show up. So unfolds the rush to find a good costume before they were all taken.

Gemma had been pondering thus for the entire day, contemplating the kind of person she wanted to portray. There was absolutely no way that she would dress like a sex kitten or something like that, so it was hard to find something at the costume store that was appropriate. The costumes she did find, however, were so clichéd and blasé. She had already been Dorothy, I Dream of Jeanie, Hermione, among countless others, and she didn't want to repeat costumes.

But suddenly, she had an idea. Not to waste any time, she jumped on her phone to find out where Lucy was. She needed to get to the mall and an honest opinion from Lucy.

Meanwhile, Blaine was holed up in his own room, struggling to think of a costume as well. He wanted to do something that would impress Gemma, and still be 'dashing'. It was harder than it sounds. Firstly, most costume ideas were ridiculous anyways, and a lot of them had to do with the idiots on reality TV. He really didn't want to go around shirtless, with an airbrushed tan, and with stupid sunglasses on, _at night_. He was ready to admit defeat and show up in something stupid, like a superhero, until he saw the half mask on his bookshelf. He got up from his bed and went to look at it again. He knew what he was going to wear.

* * *

The party was in full swing when Gemma and Lucy arrived. The Killers was blasting from the speakers located near the stage set up at the far end of the gymnasium. The place was decked like a haunted house; cobwebs were everywhere and Gemma and Lucy were pulling them out of their faces in order to go anywhere. The walls were covered in black paper and graveyard scenes were displayed around the perimeter of the room. The back gym was being used as an actual haunted house, and screams could be heard from behind the fluttering black cloth separating the gyms.

"Luce, I don't know about this," said Gemma hesitantly. She gripped her costume tightly and looked nervously around the room for a familiar face, but they were all disguised behind layers of make-up and masks. "I don't do well with this sort of stuff. Especially if I hear people screaming all night."

"Girl, relax. We just need to find Alex. Blaine's probably with him." Lucy cast a knowing glance at Gemma. "I, for one, am just dying to know what they both dressed up as." Lucy had dressed as a redheaded Marilyn Monroe. Her explanation was something like 'I'll have you know that blondes don't _always _have more fun'.

"Yeah, sure. Let's just find them and get this party over with," said Gemma, brushing off the blush she felt rise in her cheek at the mention of Blaine's name, and followed the gleam of Lucy's copper hair into the maze of people to find their friends.

Finally, Lucy spotted Alex, who was dressed as…one of the guys from Jersey Shore. Lucy rolled her eyes at him, "Alex, hun, I can't believe you dressed up like that. It's kinda tacky." She looked him over once again, and said to him, "but it's also kinda hot." She winked. That was enough to send Alex over the edge. He got a mischievous glint in his eye, and grabbed Lucy's hand. "Waldorf, now." She giggled as he led her out of the party, looking back at Gemma standing there, helplessly looking around for a friend. "Sorry, Gem! Duty calls!" and was off with a little wave of her hand in Gemma's direction.

Gemma just stood there, fuming. She had just been ditched by her roommate. And there was nobody she knew around her. This was great, just great. "Um, Gemma? I'm still here….They didn't completely ditch you, you know," said a voice from behind her. She whirled around to find a guy wearing 19th century French clothes. His face was half-hidden by a mask, a Phantom of the Opera mask, in fact. She squinted in the darkness to see who it was, but when she looked in his eyes, she immediately knew it was Blaine.

"Blaine? Wow, if that's you, your costume is amazing!" His costume _was_ amazing. His hair was slicked back, but to the back this time, instead of his usual side part. The mask covered the right side of his face, but his smile showed through. His white, billowy shirt was buttoned all the way up to his neck and it spilled over his black coat. The pants he wore were a lot more form fitting than his uniform slacks were, and they were tucked into a pair of shiny, knee-high boots. To top it off, he was wearing a thick, red-lined cape that fell just to the back of his knees. Gemma thought he looked unbelievably sexy.

"Thanks," he said. "After all, they don't call me the 'Angel of Music' for anything," he laughed. "I really like your costume though. You've come as yourself, I take it?"

"How did you guess?" said Gemma playfully. She was decked in a glamorous, floor length gown. It was a ridiculously deep shade of purple, and Blaine couldn't help but stare at the way it made her eyes stand out even more. Around her shoulders hung a black faux fur stole and she carried a small silver clutch. Her hair was coiffed into a perfect side chignon, and it looked like Lucy did her make-up. She looked gorgeous and he was immensely attracted to her red red lips, which were poised in a little pout. He shook himself out of it—this was the second time in a week where he couldn't get her lips out of his mind. They were just so lush and kissable and….

"Um, Blaine? I asked you how you knew?" He snapped out of his stupor, and answered truthfully. "It's you in the future. And, I figured that if you were as dressed up as that, you couldn't possibly be imitating somebody else. Because you're not like anybody else." He mumbled the next part. "You're a star."

"What was that?" she asked. Her heart was beating quickly; did he just call her a star? _No, he couldn't have, _she told herself. _We are just simply friends…and I happen to like him a lot…._

"Uh nothing," he said quickly. He didn't mean to say that out loud. Luckily, he was wearing a mask and it was too dark for her to notice that _he_ was blushing now. "So, are you hungry? Do you want something to drink?" He was still a little concerned about the scared way she looked whenever she heard a scream coming from the next gym.

"Um, I'm fine." And she was, now that she found him at the party. "You know, with enough convincing, I think I might actually go in there…" she gestured to the black cloth in the distance. "I mean, I really just need to get over my fears of that kind of stuff, and now that you're here, well you helped me with that movie last week, and so I figured…" She was starting to ramble now.

Blaine grabbed her hand. "Gemma, it's fine. I'll go with you, if you're really sure you want to do this," he said, uncertain of whether or not she would follow through. That shut her up.

"Oh. Okay then. Um, let's go and get this over with before I change my mind," she looked questionably at the line that formed around the perimeter. "We might as well get a spot in line."

He followed her to the end of the line and they spent their long wait talking. It was a nice talk. Gemma told him more about her friends from Greenwood, and Blaine told her a little more about his family. "But beware, if you ever happen to meet my parents," he told her. "They have more manners than I do, and they bore you to death with their stuffiness. They mean well, I guess, but sometimes, they need to pull the stick out a little more, if you know what I mean." Gemma blushed, glad that her rouged cheeks were already rosy, because she had never heard Blaine speak out like that before. Well at least not about things like his parents. Sure, he joked with his friends, but he seemed a little upset when he was talking about his family. She didn't quite want to see him in that way, not now, because they were enjoying the party, and she was a little unsure about that side of him. Right now, she liked the gentlemanly Blaine, the one who did right by everyone and was so nice to her. She needed that right now.

She gave him a quick hug to stop him from talking anymore. She felt bad that he was showing these feelings about his parents; she thought they got along very well, considering that he was away every and all weekend at home. Maybe there was another reason for his absences….

Blaine had appreciated the hug. It quieted him before he went on too much about his family. He didn't really want her to know that, not quite yet. He didn't know if she could handle the truth about him just now. "Uh thanks. You uh-stopped me from a potential rant. Not something anyone wants to hear."

She smiled, until she saw that they were nearly to the front of the line. She blanched a little, and he put a firm, reassuring grip on her shoulders. "There's no way you are backing out of this. We just stood in line for like, an hour and a half. You're going through even if I have to drag you." He laughed. She just nodded and looked on in fear. They moved up silently in line, next to go through. Then, before she knew it, they were being pushed off into the darkness of the black maze.

"Blaine? I can't see you! Are you still here?" Gemma started to panic. She stopped where she was and held her hands out in front of her, blindly searching for her friend. Her hands felt something firm, but warm, and she realized that she just grabbed his chest—luckily, they were the only two in that area. "Oh, um I- I- uh," she stammered. She felt hands grip hers and she relaxed a little. "There you are," said Blaine. He moved his hands to rest on top of her shoulders, keeping hers under his, and nudged her forward with his foot. "Come on, you said you would do this. I'm right here, behind you."

Gemma had to admit, when it was all over, that it wasn't that bad. Every time she got spooked, she would jump back into Blaine, and he would give her an encouraging squeeze on her shoulders. That made it alright. She decided that she would only ever adventure to try scary things (like going through a haunted house or watch a scary movie) when Blaine was around. That way, she wouldn't be so scared. He made her feel so comfortable; she always forgot why she was so scared in the first place whenever she was with him.

* * *

The rest of that night passed by with a blur. Everybody was having a good time, but when the faculty finally shut down the party at one in the morning, subconsciously, everybody knew it was time to dial it down anyways. Blaine had walked in on the sleeping figures of Lucy and Alex curled up together in Alex's bed, so he decided to try to find somewhere else to sleep, so as to not disturb them. Mostly everyone had already gone off to bed, so he had nowhere to go except to knock on Gemma's door, with his pillow and blankets rolled up under his arm. He had already changed into his pajamas, but he hadn't showered. He liked to refresh in the morning and start off each day with a clean feeling. He found that he simply couldn't sleep if he tried to after taking a shower. It was nearly impossible.

Gemma, on the other hand, liked to shower twice a day, if possible. Like Blaine, she liked to have a clean start in the morning, but she liked the cool feel of her wet hair as she went to sleep. It gave her the feeling like she was wiping her slate clean so she could sleep easy every night, and she had been unable to break the habit that started after the bullying got worse. It felt good to sleep with an empty mind, free of the day's emotions and dramas. So that night, like countless others, she had taken a shower. Unlike the countless other times, there was a knock at the door. She pulled on a sweatshirt over her tank top, and opened the door to find Blaine standing there, with a helpless look on his face as if to say, 'I have nowhere else to go. Please oh please take me in'. She laughed and said, "I guess you were kind of kicked out for the night, huh?"

"Uh yeah. It's not a good idea to be in the room when they wake up. They kinda freak out if there's anyone else there…" he trailed off, leaving her to assume that he had experienced an awkward moment in the past that she dared not ask him about.

"Alright, I guess you can take the couch. It's a hide-a-bed," she told him, gesturing over to it. "Here, I'll help you get it ready." She walked to the little shelving unit next to the bathroom that housed extra sheets and blankets for the room, and grabbed the top set. They unfolded the couch and prepared it quickly with their combined efforts.

"Thanks, this really saves me. One: from Alex and Lucy, I don't have to go into that, and two: it's going to save my back. Sleeping on the couches downstairs is _not_ comfortable. At all." Again, she guessed that there was an incident (probably connected to Alex and Lucy) that had forced Blaine to sleep on the couches in the commons.

"Sure, no problem," she said, and turned out the light and crawled into her own bed.

There was a slight awkward silence, until Blaine broke it. "Uh, Gemma? You awake?"

"Um, yeah. What's up?"

"I- um- I just want to- say- um…Thanks for letting me stay. It really does mean a lot. Not that many people would have let me stay, believe it or not," he said quietly. He wanted to say something else, but he let that feeling pass over him without saying anything. He thought it would make it awkward, and they still had to sleep through the night. So he let it go.

Gemma could sense that there was something else that he wanted to say, but she didn't press it. "Okay. G'night then," and she closed her eyes and went to sleep immediately. Blaine lay there in silence for a moment. "Yeah…goodnight." He sighed and closed his eyes as well.

He had trouble getting to sleep that night—it was bugging him that he didn't say what he wanted to. It ate away at him, until he could no longer stand it.

"Gemma, are you awake?" No answer. Blaine took a deep breath; this was his only chance to tell her without actually telling her. She was asleep—what harm could that do?

"I love you," he whispered, barely audible. There. Finally. He had said it to her. Well, sort of. But it was better than nothing, and he felt some of the weight lift off his chest as he turned to his other side and closed his eyes, sleep finding easily him this time.

* * *

Gemma woke up at about nine that morning. The sun streamed in from the open curtains; it was going to be a gorgeous day for the first of November. She smiled, remembering the party from the night before. She had had a lot of fun, and then she remembered that Blaine spent the night sleeping on the couch. She got out of bed quietly, and tiptoed over to the couch, and peered over the edge.

Blaine wasn't there. In fact, the sheets had been removed and folded on top of the cushions that had been returned to the couch. She flopped on her bed in disappointment. She was wishing that she might catch him before he left, but that was never the case. She supposed that she would never get to hang out with him outside of the school week. She grabbed her phone to call her mom to tell her that she was leaving for home soon. _1 new message,_ it said, like the week before.

**Sorry to completely ditch you this morning. I have to get an early start because** **my parents called me last night and they had something planned for the weekend. I had a great time last night at the party ;) -B**

Once again, he couldn't stay for a few more hours at Westbrook. Disappointment flooded through her. Just one time, _one time_, she thought, she would like to spend a weekend with him. They were great friends, and she didn't care where the weekend was spent, she just wanted to be with her friend. Was that too much to ask?

She sighed, and started to pack her overnight bag again. She threw things in, not caring if they wrinkled—she was that upset. She had a mind to text him back a few choice words, but when she read the text again, she couldn't bring herself to do it. The text was just so…dapper. It was hard to be mad at someone who was that mannerly and put together. It would be different if he really was a jerk. At least he had taken the time to text her about it. And the wink.

She didn't really know what to think of it, but she texted him back:

**Me too! Thanks for going through that abysmal place with me, you made it bearable ;) we gotta hang out sometime, I'm beginning to get jealous of your family! –Gem**

Blaine stared at the reply he had just gotten from Gemma. He had to fight back the butterflies that threatened to escape from his stomach—he had just eaten breakfast, after all. On the way home, he had stopped by a café to get something to eat, when he got her text.

The truth was, he _had_ wanted to spend the weekend at school to actually hang out with his friends, but his parents insisted that he attend some party that some friends of his parents were throwing to introduce their long lost granddaughter. He didn't even know the girl, in fact, nobody knew this girl and the grandparents hadn't actually spoken to the girl yet about their relation to her. He didn't want to go to the party, but it was at his house, and he had to make some sort of appearance.

He finished the rest of his coffee and threw away his trash when he left the café. Back in his car, all he could think about was how unbearably _long _the weekend was going to be, and how he wanted to spend it with Gemma, his friend. But he really wanted to be more than friends with her. And he had a nagging suspicion that she might feel likewise. Whatever she may feel, he still wanted to tread those waters carefully, because the last thing he wanted was to ruin the amazing friendship they had crafted.

Gemma walked in her front door to a strange sight. Her mom was sitting on the couch, talking to two impeccably dressed people, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, Gemma honey. You came in at just the right time," said Karyn, smiling through her teeth.

"Forgive me, but who the heck are these people sitting on the couch?" Gemma looked confused.

"Gemma, dear." The woman got up from the couch and hugged Gemma. She was older, but she had aged gracefully, didn't look a day over fifty. Her clothes were all designer, which Gemma appreciated, but she didn't understand why this woman was hugging her and calling her 'dear'.

The woman saw the look on her face and answered her question. "I'm Clara, your grandmother. And this is Joe, your grandfather," she gestured to the man who now stood from the couch to approach Gemma.

Gemma just looked more stunned. "But I thought you were both dead all these years…"

Clara and Joe exchanged a knowing look. "We did it to protect you from what we're about to tell you," said Joe. "We're the Bloomsbury's." They searched her face for a spark of recognition. "As in Bloomsbury Press? The publishing company?"

Gemma gasped and drew her hand to her mouth. Her eyes widened in realization, but then her eyebrows knit together in anger. "Why didn't you guys tell me? Why did you wait so long to 'claim' me?" She was nearly livid right now. Almost her entire life was spent worrying about money, after her father died.

Clara looked at her lovingly. "Sweetheart, we wanted so much to tell you. But your father, he didn't want you to know. He didn't want you to grow up spoiled, so he moved to Amherst after you were born and cut off contact from us. He was going to tell you after you graduated college, but when we found out that you were attending Westbrook, we wanted to tell you sooner. We figured you would feel a little out of place there, and felt you had a right to know."

Gemma calmed down a little. "So you were going to tell me anyways?" she asked. They nodded. She seemed to relax after that.

"Your father also insisted that he shorten his name to Blooms, so it wouldn't attract any attention to you," added Joe. Gemma now started making the connections between what she knew and what they were telling her. It had to be true, she concluded. There was no denying it.

"We also wanted to know if you would attend a party with us. It's uh- a party for you. To introduce you as our granddaughter," said Clara.

Gemma actually smiled at that. "I would actually love to go to a party. Anything to distract me from my life, right now." This earned a puzzled look from Karyn.

"Great," said Joe. "The party is tomorrow night, at our friend's house. Their son goes to school with you. What was his name—oh it's Blaine. Do you know him?"

**Is it just me, or does anyone else want to see Darren as the Phantom? *swoons***

**Stay tuned! As always, please review.**

**P.S. Tell me if it's going too fast or not for you, cause I'm trying to develop some of the characters a bit more, but I'm kinda stuck...**


	6. One Of Them

**And don't forget to review! Still own nothing.**

Gemma sat in the backseat of the limo, thanking her grandparents for going shopping with her to find a suitable dress for the event. She was nervous, because she was unsure of how people would react at her entrance into this new world. But she was more nervous of how Blaine would react. She was finally going to be a part of his world, that rich, luxurious world, and she was afraid that she was going to embarrass herself or something in front of him.

The limousine had reached the Anderson's house. _By god, it was like a castle_, she thought. Now she really felt out of place, even though she now was basically set for life like the rest of her friends. She had never seen where Blaine lived and was quite intimidated by what she saw. She took a deep breath before going inside—there were a lot of standards to uphold, and she didn't know if she could keep it together the way everyone else seemed like they could.

Blaine sat on the edge of a chaise, clearly bored out of his mind. _I think I would rather be doing homework,_ he deduced. He didn't like these kinds of stuffy parties. That was the sort of thing rich people did, and he was always modest about money. He never cared how much money somebody had, or who their family was—he cared about the person. A lot of the time, he wished that his family wasn't rich, and that he could be a normal guy who didn't have to live by any expectations. His brooding was broken by his parents' presence.

"Blaine, darling. You need to meet the Bloomsbury's granddaughter." His mom winked at him. He thought she looked too dressed up for the event, but then again, that was his mother. Always the dramatic. "She's quite gorgeous, and has the _best_ manners!" she added slyly to him. He brushed off her attempt to fix him up with somebody. She was always doing that, and he was sick of it. Besides, he didn't want to meet any other girls right now. He was still happy about the one he had met a month ago, and he didn't think his feelings would be changed by some girl his mom was trying to pitch to him.

"Mom, not now. I'm kind of done with this party. Can I just go now?" He pleaded with her silently.

"Nonsense! You _must_ meet this girl. Then you may leave." He just rolled his eyes at his mother.

"Fine."

"Oh, there they are now, go over to them and introduce yourself," said his father, quietly taking his mother's side. Blaine was disappointed that his dad couldn't care enough to take his son's side for once. But then again, had he ever?

Blaine saw where his father was pointing out. He sighed and walked over, putting on his best 'I'm-so-charmed-to-meet-you-but-really-I-have-to-go-have-a-nice-time-at-the-party' face. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was standing with the Bloomsburys.

It was Gemma, and she looked absolutely stunning. Way more so than the night before, he thought. Her dress was a black and blue mermaid-style that hugged her body until it hit her slim thighs, then it flared out in light layers of black tulle. The fitted part was a silky, cerulean color, with an overlay of elegant, black lace. A sash cinched the lace at her waist, and was embellished with sparkly jewels. Her long hair cascaded down her back in loose curls, and she looked far more glamorous than any movie star that Blaine had ever seen or met (and he had met quite a few).

Clara and Joe noticed his shock to see Gemma there, and the way she was dressed. "Why hello there, Blaine. You must know Gemma, our granddaughter. I can see your parents didn't tell you who the party was for, I'm guessing," said Clara smoothly. "We'll just let you guys talk." And with that, Joe and Clara disappeared from sight, mingling with the rest of the party, receiving congratulations from all sorts of guests at their reunion with their granddaughter.

Gemma blushed when she saw Blaine. He was wearing an expensive Armani tux, and a black bowtie. He looked far more dapper and handsome than in his school uniform. _I could get used to parties like this…_

Her thought was interrupted by Blaine, who was fidgeting nervously next to her. "Um, when they said a long lost granddaughter, I wasn't really expecting it to be you," he said finally.

"Me neither. I came home from school yesterday, and they were just…there. I was beyond shocked." She smiled. "But, now we're finally hanging out, or whatever you call this, outside of school." He laughed. "Yeah, you can call this hanging out, in a way."

"Good. You have a lot of work cut out for you, mister." He quirked an eyebrow at her. "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing here, Blaine. Are you going to help me, or not?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Ah, of course." He held out his arm and she linked hers through it. "Let's get this over with."

"Well said, my good sir." And they were off to tackle the party; Blaine, the mentor, and Gemma, his student.

* * *

It was Tuesday at Westbrook, and everybody had just gotten back from their three day weekend.

"I cannot believe you have to be around those people all the time," said Gemma to Blaine, on their way to breakfast that morning back. She was commenting on the party from Sunday night, and she was still exhausted from it. "My brain is dead from learning all those names. And your house, it's _huge_. You must get exhausted from going around it all day. How do you do it?" she asked wearily.

"My secret? Get a room in the house that's close to everything. And as for the people? Put on a smile that says 'Oh, hello there, long time no see, how's life, I really must get going', and leave as quickly as you can. I've given up on trying to get to know everybody personally." He shrugged. "However, there's the lucky few that I actually care enough about to know them…"

Gemma wondered if this included her. She smiled at him. "Well, I just hope that I don't have to go through another one of those anytime soon."

"You'll just have to see, Gemma. These people love a good, spontaneous party. Don't say I didn't warn you." He nudged her arm playfully. "Let's just eat breakfast without thinking of those stuffy snobs."

"Agreed."

They made the rest of the journey to the cafeteria with smirks on their faces. Gemma hadn't told anyone else yet about her newfound inheritance, and she wanted to wait until the right time to tell them all. The entire table noticed the smug looks on both Blaine and Gemma's faces. They took it to mean something else, however.

"Hey, why do you two have those silly grins on your faces? Did ya finally hook up or something?" asked Alex bluntly. Lucy gasped and smacked his arm. Gemma and Blaine both blushed intensely on the spot. "Alex, we're just friends. Friends don't 'hook up' like that," said Gemma calmly. Inside, she was wondering what Alex meant by that. Blaine only thinks of her as a great friend. Friends don't do that. Whatever she may feel for him, she had figured that he only liked her as a friend and she was willing to accept that. She thought it was a little mean for Alex to tease her about something like that.

Blaine was thinking likewise. He surely thought that Gemma only thought of him as a friend, especially after she just said that. So why was Alex teasing him about it, then? He was a bit disappointed at her retort to Alex's comment, but he brushed it off and put on a face of indifference.

"Well, care to entertain us?" asked Alex expectantly. Gemma looked at Blaine, who nodded, and said, "I just found out that I'm the heir to the Bloomsbury fortune."

The look of shock on Alex and Lucy's faces sent Gemma and Blaine reeling into laughter. Then Gemma frowned. "What? Is it so hard to believe that I'm related to them?"

"No! It's just- It's- Are you really?" They had believed it almost as much as Gemma and Blaine did when they found out.

"Yeah. I came home from school Saturday morning, and my grandparents who I thought were dead came to reclaim me." She recounted the story like she did for Blaine two nights ago. "Blaine's parents threw me a party."

They were still in shock. "So this means you're rich, like us?" asked Lucy slowly, making sure.

"Yeah, basically."

Lucy smiled widely at her, and said, "Girl, we are getting our behinds to the mall ASAP!"

Gemma laughed again. "Okay, as long as I have time to… Ah, who am I kidding, I can always make time to shop!"

**I've always wanted to come home to discover that some long-lost relative has given me a boatload of money... sigh.**

**Anyways, this means that Gemma is now open to a lot more doors after Westbrook. Good for her! :D**


	7. Brewing Troubles and White Chocolate

**Distractions are welcome, yes?**

* * *

The next few weeks passed by without much incident. The Cardinals were preparing their next piece; the one that they would be performing at Regionals. They had a great song picked out, but there was something missing from it. The problem was, nobody knew what it was or how it could be fixed. They were at the ends of their means.

Meanwhile, the boarders of Waldorf were finding themselves in hot water. They were on the verge of academic arrest. That meant that if the combined grade point average of an entire house went below a certain point, they would be placed on campus arrest until the G.P.A. improved. And that would mean however long it took to get the G.P.A. up. So, usually, mostly everybody strived to keep their grades up to prevent the wrath of their house. It was a source of pride if your house can keep itself out of academic arrest, but the inhabitants of Waldorf were pressed for time as homework and practicing piled up. The holidays were coming quickly, and that meant a lot of performances and competitions. For the Cardinals, it meant Regionals. Nearly everybody's grades in the Cardinals were suffering from the intense scheduling in preparation for the contest.

Only a few people were actually managing their time efficiently between practices and endless amounts of homework. This included both the Head Boy and Girl, and select others. They were some of the lucky ones who didn't have to worry about their grades, and they spent their free time helping out the others who needed the extra assistance in the various subjects covered in the mountains of papers and books stacked up everywhere around the boarding house.

Gemma was surprised at how well she had adapted to the homework load. She was used to a hefty amount from Greenwood, but the Glee club there rehearsed a lot less. Still, she was pleased to figure out that she could actually get more done when she had a tighter time limit. It was the urgent need to get it done now and not pay for it later attitude that she adopted, and it helped immensely. It kicked her procrastinating habit very nearly for good, she thought.

It was turning out to be quite a nice day, until a voice filled the halls over the intercom. "Will Blaine Anderson and Lucy Howard please come to my office?" The voice didn't sound too pleased, and both Blaine and Lucy were grimacing when they heard the announcement. The person that the voice belonged to was Sylvia Taylor, the Headmistress of Westbrook. She was an extremely imposing woman in her mid-forties with a wall of iron grey hair that fell just past her chin. Her clothes were always without a wrinkle and the sounds of her stern heels could be heard all day where ever she went. You did not mess with her.

When they were seated in Taylor's office, they looked around the room, taking in all the details. Neither one of them hadn't ever really been in that office, aside from their first day of school, or if it were something important. They took this impromptu meeting to be something of importance.

"I can't imagine this is going to be good," whispered Blaine as they waited for her to return to her office from the front desk. There was some issue with one of the secretaries and Taylor had to help sort it out. He reached across the desk and picked up a paperweight that sat on the desk and turned it over in his hands.

"Yeah, I mean she called us both down here. That could only mean—Oh, no! Blaine, she's going to put us on academic arrest!" Lucy looked worried. Waldorf had never been on academic arrest before. Yes, they had been on campus arrest at other times, but those were other circumstances that involved the mischievous doings of some of their classmates. They prided themselves with being able to juggle the rigorous schoolwork and a busy extracurricular schedule.

"I have to agree with you there, Luce. I'm can't think of why else we'd be here." Blaine shuffled his feet around nervously. "I just feel like this is my fault. I wish I could've helped more people out. I had no idea it was this bad."

They were interrupted by the clacking sounds that signaled Taylor's entrance as she slipped into the small but cozy room. Blaine quickly replaced the paperweight to the desk and sat back. She sat down at her desk and smiled at them. "Now, Blaine, Lucy, I know you two are both fantastic students," she started, "but some of your housemates aren't as skilled in time management as the two of you. Which brings me to the topic of our little meeting here today. I assume you've guessed why you're here." She didn't wait for their affirmative nod before she kept talking. "It seems that your house G.P.A. has dipped below an unacceptable line. This, as much as it pains me to do so, means that I will have to place Waldorf on academic arrest. You do know the rules, right? Right, of course, it's the same as a general campus arrest. Just remember that it will stay like this until every grade has reached a satisfactory point. As long as it takes." She glanced at them after looking at some papers on her desk, which she had just neatly arranged, then mussed up, and then arranged again. "You may leave to tell the rest of your house. I suggest you contact your families so they know not to expect you home anytime soon."

They looked at her, still slightly stunned that it was true. After a few awkward moments, Blaine got up and addressed the headmistress. "Ms. Taylor, I thank you for your time and I hope we can prove to you that we can get our house back on track. This is serious, and we will do we can to fix this."

"Thank you, Blaine. You may both leave," she said again. Lucy got up and walked with Blaine outside to the front hall of the school. "How are we going to break it to them?" asked Lucy worriedly. She did not want to be the one to have to break it to their house.

Blaine sighed. He struggled with his thoughts for a moment, and then said, "I guess I'll announce it. But," he added pointedly, "you are going to stand up there with me when I announce it. I am _not_ taking full blame for breaking the news. Alright?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Alright. I _guess_ I can stand next to you." But Blaine wasn't looking forward to telling his friends either.

* * *

The news was received more gracefully than they thought it would be. It seemed that the house had understood what the consequences were, and were really trying to atone for their slacking study habits. Gemma was disappointed that she had to spend all weekend at school because she had to cancel plans that she made with her old Greenwood friends. She didn't want to tell them how rigorous the academics were at Westbrook, most of her friends struggled in normal classes, and she would feel bad telling them that she was doing fine while the rest of the house would be an academic arrest. So instead, she blamed it on extra Cardinals rehearsals on the weekends to prep for Regionals. They were disappointed, but they seemed like they understood because they too were cramming in extra rehearsals whenever Mr. Jones could get them to.

It was the first weekend of the arrest, and Gemma found herself with nothing to do. She had finished her homework the night before, and had no other projects to work on. She was extremely bored.

The instant she got up on Saturday morning, she was dreading the weekend to come. There wasn't much she could do to help out the other Waldorfs; she wasn't in any of their classes and she didn't even take any of those subjects. So after she showered that morning, she decided that she was going to bake.

She flipped through her cupcake cookbook—she was in a cupcake mood that day—and settled on a recipe that she hadn't tried before. She double checked to make sure that she would have all the ingredients for the recipe, and started on the batter when she got the ingredients and utensils out.

Blaine awoke to the sweet smell of baking that Saturday morning. He usually got up early, but since he didn't have to travel two hours to his house, he didn't have to wake up that early. So he decided to sleep in, and was stirred by the sweet and spicy scents of white chocolate and chai wafting from the kitchens below. He had no idea who could be baking. Nobody ever baked in Waldorf; they didn't know how. He wondered if someone had hired a private chef to cook something for somebody as he showered and dressed, and tried to think if it was anybody's birthday. He dried his hair—he hated having wet hair—and went downstairs to find out who was responsible for the delicious smells.

Gemma was frosting the last of the cupcakes that had already cooled with a frosting bag. She was clearly focused on making the perfect swirl on each cupcake. When she was through with the frosting, she topped each of the cupcakes with some clear sugar crystals she had found in the cupboard. After she finished, she looked up to see Blaine looking at her with a look like reverence. "Um Blaine, you okay there?"

"You-you-you bake?" He looked at her with wide eyes.

"Yes…Is that going to be problem?" she asked slowly.

"Um, can I have one?" he asked all of a sudden. Gemma eyed him suspiciously. "Yeah…Uh, like I said, are you okay?"

The intense look on his face told her to stop talking, he was being very serious all of a sudden and she was a little confused by it. He took one and held it up eye level, like he was inspecting it for something, and unwrapped it slowly, with an unreadable expression on his face. He took a bite of it and chewed it thoughtfully.

Then he finally spoke. "You, my friend, are going to have to make a _lot_ more of those if you are going to survive this campus arrest." Gemma just looked at him with raised eyebrows. He had totally just weirded out on her, and she wasn't sure how to respond. Until she noticed his hair.

It wasn't slicked back. There was no gel, anywhere. It was…curly. Like extremely curly. Gemma gawked at his hair, making it Blaine's turn to feel uncomfortable. "Gemma, what's wrong?" Then he noticed her line of sight, and traced it to his head. "Is there something wrong with my hair? Oh geez, is there something in it?" He was a little worried that she hadn't broken that look from her face.

"No, it's the fact that there's _nothing_ in your hair right now….You have _curly_ hair?"

"Oh, yeah," he said sheepishly. "I actually kind of hate my hair, it's too hard to manage, that's why I gel it. I've tried having it super short—never going to do that again…" He shuddered at the memory of his short hair. "It's no big deal."

"I actually like it, Blaine. You should wear it like that more often, it makes you more…human," she said to him. He blushed slightly, not enough for her to notice. "While that's flattering and all, I just like to have it slicked back. I only wear it like this on the weekends."

Gemma instantly wanted to spend every single future weekend with him if it meant that he would keep his hair styled like that. She loved the way his curly hair made him look classier and more sophisticated. It was a look that suited him more than any other time she had seen him. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair to see if it was really as soft as it looked. Then she realized what she was thinking, and quickly tore her gaze from his hair. "Um, yeah, anyways, if you say I need to make more, I'm obviously going to need some help with this."

"I thought you'd never ask," he said, reaching for an apron.

"Oh, no. Blaine, you don't need to wear an apron. Nobody wears them anymore. What you're wearing is fine." Gemma actually just said this because she had just noticed what he was wearing. Dark skinny jeans and a light blue, three-quarter sleeved sweater that fit him far too well. She was on the verge of drooling, and she didn't want him to cover up those amazing clothes that he happened to be in.

"Oh, okay, then." He tossed it aside. "Well, let's get cooking, then." He gave her a winning smile that crinkled his eyes. _Dear God, this boy is going to give me a heart attack,_ thought Gemma. _I hope I can make it through this._

* * *

Four hours, and two hundred cupcakes later, Gemma and Blaine both collapsed on the couch from utter exhaustion. "I never want to frost another cupcake again," said Blaine.

"What are you talking about?" Gemma laughed at him. "You've probably never frosted a cupcake until today!"

"Aha I plead the fifth!" He held his hands up in surrender. Gemma just swatted at him, too tired to make any other comeback. She just laid her head on his shoulder, defeated for the day, and not caring what that gesture looked like.

"Whatever, I just need a long nap and a cup of cocoa to loosen my fingers. They're as stiff as wood." She sat for a moment, and then realized what she said. "I mean, um, they're just really stiff." She looked down uncomfortably.

Blaine just laughed at her. He was amazed by all that he had learned from her that day. That she could cook (and bake, especially), that she was a good teacher, that she was patient (you have to wait for the cupcakes to cool before frosting them), she had an amazing attention span (well maybe that was just because he was a guy, and she was a girl, but then Blaine had an unusually long attention span for a guy), and now, she made dirty jokes. He wondered how she could get any better than she already was. And he really loved the way she leaned up against him—she just _fit_ there—and they way she smelled. She smelled terrific, like strawberries, jasmine and sandalwood. He never thought the combination would smell as good as it did, but he breathed in her scent discreetly, taking it in like it would be taken away from him at any moment.

And it was taken away from him. Gemma had heard the sounds of footsteps on the stairwell and sat up straight. Blaine didn't quite understand why she had all of a sudden become distant, but he shrugged it off and sat back and closed his eyes. He was tired, after all.

Lucy came in through the hall and walked into the room. She sniffed the air, then laid her eyes on the kitchen counter, which was completely covered with the finished cupcakes, a smile creeping on her face. "I thought I smelled something sweet!"

"Yeah, go ahead and have one, they're for the house. It's a kind of motivation to get out of this slump," explained Gemma. Lucy, it appeared, had fallen in love with the cupcake. "Oh ma goh," she said, her mouth full. "Theth aw delithiouth!" She swallowed the big bite, and finished talking. "Gem, why didn't you tell us you can cook?"

Gemma shifted in her seat. "Well, nobody ever asked. I kind of thought that since there's a ginormous, luxury kitchen in here, everybody cooked."

"Ha!" Lucy scoffed. "The kitchen is in good shape because nobody ever uses it! Seriously, nobody knows how to cook in this house. We're all just musicians here. We're too lazy to learn how to cook." She took another bite. "These are just amazing. I love you. Everybody will love you. Oh my god," she said again. She was clearly in heaven.

Gemma raised an eyebrow at Blaine, who shrugged and rested his head back on the couch. Lucy now had her phone whipped out and was furiously typing something, and then hit what must have been send. Less than ten seconds later, there was a loud thumping above the kitchen, and what sounded like multiple pairs of feet pounding on the stairs. Lucy had just enough time to dive onto the couch before Alex and a blur of other guys raced past her and into the kitchen.

"…" Alex stopped once he saw the cupcakes sitting all over the counter. His eyes glowed, and he looked like a kid after their first visit to Disneyland. "Oh. My. God. You made all of these?" He looked around to find where Gemma was. She peeked up from her cover behind the couch and waved a little.

"Yeah, they're for everybody. I thought people needed a little pick me up considering the circumstances…" The boys were too busy devouring the cupcakes to listen by that point. "Okay," Gemma said slowly, "never mind…"

By the time that everyone had had at least one cupcake, frosting and crumbs coated the countertops. It was a bigger mess than when the cupcakes were actually being made, but everybody thought it was worth it. The boys were practically worshipping Gemma, and were fawning at her feet.

"You guys!" Gemma was fed up by then. "Guys! Stop prostrating yourselves in front of me. It's really no big deal that I bake. I can always teach you how." It was as if she had divulged the secret to life, how happy the boys looked when she offered that. "Really? You'd teach us how to bake?" said Jeff.

"Well yeah, actually. Anything to get you from throwing yourselves on the floor whenever I walk by." She shot a hot look at them. "Really, though. You guys need to calm down."

"Fine," said Alex with a huff. "Come on you guys, we've still got some homework to finish." The rest of the people crowded around the kitchen sighed gloomily and followed Alex back upstairs to continue their studies.

"Well, now you've got everybody else smitten," said Blaine.

Gemma put her hand to her forehead and rubbed it like she had a headache. "These people, how do you live with them?" Then she realized what he said. "Wait you said everybody else. There was somebody before?"

Blaine reddened and coughed uncomfortably. "Uh, nobody."

"Come on, tell me who it is! I want to know!" Gemma was getting excited now. The thought that somebody actually liked her? Smitten by her? It was a piece of information that she desperately wanted to wrest from him. _Maybe_, she thought, _maybe it's him._ She immediately threw that thought out. _He doesn't like me like that. He's a friend_, she reminded herself. But it was still a shred of hope she clung to as she looked at Blaine expectantly.

"I-I promised I wouldn't say anything. I've already said too much. He would kill me if he thought you knew, 'cause I'm the only one who really knows." He couldn't look her in the eye. Of course it was him. He just couldn't bring himself to tell her. It wasn't the right time, she didn't like him like that. He would just have to work on that so he could tell her eventually. Because all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her beautiful lips. She was biting her bottom lip showing an impatience, which only made her lips deepen into a rosier pink and all the more lush. It took a lot of control for Blaine to hold back and look away. Finally, he just couldn't stand it, and got up.

"I'm sorry, I-I just remember there's something I have to go and do," he stammered, and left the room, leaving a confused Gemma sitting on the couch. She was disappointed that he didn't divulge who her admirer was, and that he left in a hurry. She was really enjoying getting to actually spend time with him, and then he had to leave.

She sighed. She had hoped that these new friends weren't going to be half as complicated as the ones from Greenwood. But she was wrong, they were far from being uncomplicated. Especially the ones she cared most about—Lucy, Alex, and Blaine—they were the hardest to figure out.

* * *

**I made those cupcakes yesterday. They are heavenly:)**

**Still owning nothing**


	8. Broadway and Big Breaks

**Hey guys, it's the holidays here in Westbrook:)**

* * *

Two more weekends had gone by like the one before, and the halls of Westbrook were ringing with joy and festivity. The holiday break had just started, and everybody was rejoicing. Waldorf had finally gotten their restrictions lifted, so they were all able to go home for the break and everyone was packing to leave.

Friends were making plans to visit after Christmas, and already talking about the New Year's parties that they were going to throw. Nearly every student was going to some party, and that was all they could talk about, besides Christmas, of course.

Most everyone was exchanging gifts at school, since they wouldn't be seeing each other until after Christmas. At Waldorf, Alex, Lucy, Blaine, and Gemma were gathered in the commons unwrapping each other's gifts to one another. They were the tightest knit group of friends in the house, so the gift giving was kind of a big deal.

Gemma had given Alex a 'coupon' for her cooking for the rest of the school year—she would cook him whatever he wanted at any time (reasonably, of course), and he revered her like a goddess for that.

"Dear God, I think you've just stolen my boyfriend," joked Lucy. "He'll never go near me now. I burn everything I try to cook!" They all laughed, and Gemma gave Lucy her gift. It was a huge sketchbook with oil pastels and colored pencils. "It's for your design sketches. I've noticed that you didn't really have a proper way to put down your ideas, so here it is."

"Oh, Gemma, it's wonderful!" cried Lucy, hugging her. "I knew that we would be great friends."

"Aww shucks, I'm blushing," said a modest Gemma. "Come on Blaine, open yours!" Gemma was excited for him to open her gift. She had spent hours on the internet looking for something to get him (since she couldn't get to a mall because of the restrictions), and hoped that he would like the dark grey Burberry scarf and gloves she got him.

He loved it. "Gemma, how did you know I needed a new scarf and gloves?" he asked her. He really had needed new ones, his old scarf was getting moth-eaten and his gloves had holes in the fingertips. He stared at them in his lap, with an appreciative smile.

"I just thought that they would look nice with anything, and it gets cold here. You can never have too many scarves and gloves." She could testify to that. Her collection of scarves was enormous, and she had a drawer full of gloves back at home.

"Thank you, really," he replied. "And now, you get to open my gift." He handed her a very large package and notecard. "Open the package first."

As she pulled back the wrapping paper, she gasped when she saw what it was. "Oh, no, Blaine, you shouldn't have." He had gotten her a guitar. But she didn't even play guitar, so she was confused at why he had gotten her something like that. "Just read the card, it explains it," he said, waving her shock away.

_This entitles you to free guitar lessons with the giver of this guitar._ "You had mentioned that you always wanted to learn guitar," he said.

"You play guitar?" asked Gemma. She didn't know that he played. She just thought he sang and played the piano like everyone else.

"He doesn't just play guitar," started Alex, "he plays like a million different instruments. Drums, trumpet, ukulele, saxophone, flute, violin, cello, accordion, and some other really odd things I won't even mention."

"I'm actually really good, if I may say so. I've been playing music since I was four. It was only since I came here when I started singing," said Blaine. "So I thought I would teach you, if you wanted,"

"I'd love that," replied Gemma. "This is really sweet of you to do this."

Alex pointed his finger in his open mouth, like he was going to force himself to vomit, and shoved his gift into Gemma's lap. "Open. Now." She tore off the paper, and found that it was a book. A cookbook for desserts, actually. She laughed, and said, "Well I guess I know where to find the recipes you would like, huh?"

Alex nodded and opened the large book. "I've already marked the ones that looked good for you," he said. They all burst out laughing at that. "What?" he asked. "I just thought she would like the recipes."

"You two have the most appropriate gifts for each other," said Lucy, wiping a tear from her face, she was laughing so hard. Alex looked at her for a minute and started laughing, too. "I guess we do!"

Lucy gasped for air as she tried to calm down long enough to present her gifts. "This is actually for all of you," she said as she handed Gemma, Alex, and Blaine each an envelope. "Open it," she encouraged.

Inside each envelope was a ticket to see The Phantom of the Opera—in New York. "Oh my god, Lucy, how did you get these?" asked a shocked Gemma.

"My mom knows one of the understudies, so she scored us tickets. It's the day before New Year's Eve, and we're staying there for the weekend. I've already checked with your parents, and they all said it was okay." The three could not look any happier. "Wow, Lucy, this is incredible, thank you so much," said Blaine. Gemma and Alex nodded in earnest agreement.

Gemma was so happy to have ended up there at Westbrook. She thought about how she might be spending that day if she was still at Greenwood. Sure, she would be with her friends, but they weren't as close as she had gotten with her new friends. She loved everyone from Greenwood, but it was a different kind of love. It was a tolerating, fraternal love, and they had their fair share of exploding temperaments. In the end, they would all still respect each other, but they had a competitive friendship. Everybody strove to be in the spotlight, and it was tiring. Here, everybody respected one another and ceded the highest position to those who they thought deserved it most. They all knew that they shone, so they didn't fight for the limelight like they did at Greenwood. Westbrook kids were that of a different breed. They were refined, but wild as hell when they wanted to be. They were giving, kind, and flattering—it was a sort of friendship you wanted to reciprocate. Gemma thought she was the luckiest girl in the world to have found these friends, and wouldn't trade them for anything.

* * *

The trip to New York was amazing. The seats were perfect and the show was fantastic. They stayed in a nice hotel in Manhattan, and the food they ate was incredible. They had even gotten to meet the cast of the show afterwards because of Lucy's connections. They were in heaven there in New York. Going back to Ohio would be very difficult after the trip, and none of them wanted it to end. Sadly, reality caught up with them, and it was already January 5th, the day they had to return to Westbrook.

They were all still on the high from the trip when they returned to school that day, and spent it in a happy daze. The day was spent unpacking their bags and cleaning the dorm rooms that they neglected to clean before break. Well, at least Alex was cleaning. Blaine was a very neat person, and Gemma and Lucy were relatively neat as well. So Alex spent all day tidying the room he and Blaine shared while the other three watched a movie in Lucy and Gemma's room.

They had decided on _Up_, one of their favorite Disney movies. Yes, Blaine actually liked Disney. He rather loved it, to be honest. Gemma had discovered this when she looked him up on YouTube shortly after they met. Hey, she didn't know him that well back then, so she figured she should check out what this guy was like.

It turned out he had a few Disney covers on his channel. Her personal favorite was his version of 'I'll Make a Man Out Of You' from _Mulan_. She loved that movie, and especially his little comment at the end, "What a cool song! I listen to that when I'm like, working out. It's the coolest." She thought it was just the right touch of dorkiness and was rather adorable, even if he was wearing his stuffy school uniform.

So she smiled inwardly when the three of them settled down to watch the movie, enjoying that tidbit of personal information that he was unaware that she knew. He would probably flip out if he knew she knew about his YouTube channel, but she put those thoughts aside. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the movie.

Gemma sat in the middle of the large couch, with Blaine to her right and Lucy to her left. It was very hard for her to focus throughout the movie when Blaine's leg was pressed up against hers the entire time, but she made no move to cease the contact. She cried at all the usual parts, laughed at the right times, and smiled happily when the movie was over, so as to not draw attention to the fact that she and Blaine were sitting very close to each other indeed.

The credits were rolling on the large screen when Alex loudly crashed in. "Hey, guys I'm done! Have you watched the…" He instantly scowled when he saw that the movie was over. "Aww man, I was hoping I would be able to watch at least a _little_ of it…Mondo bummer…" He looked crestfallen.

"Aw Alex dear, we'll watch another movie with you, why don't you pick one out?" said Blaine in a baby voice.

Alex just glared at him. Blaine laughed and said, "No. seriously. We were going to watch another anyways. Pick it out."

Alex brightened up, and hopped over to his room to scour through the immense DVD collection that Blaine kept in his bookshelf. Well, the one that was reserved for DVDs. The other was already filled to the brim with books, so he got another one to keep his media collection in. Alex trotted back into the room with another Disney movie. It was _Mulan._ Gemma had to fight back the urge to burst out laughing by then because of her thought earlier. She looked forward to watching the movie with Blaine to see what his reactions were throughout the movie.

"Yes!" "I love this movie!" "Good choice, Alex!" They exclaimed as he set the movie up.

When Mulan was singing Reflection, Gemma glanced over to see Blaine silently mouthing the words, a distant look in his bright eyes. It seemed melancholy, and she wondered what the cause of the feeling was. She felt a little concerned, but she turned back to the movie and tried to push it out of her mind.

It was forgotten when everybody's favorite part came on. They rocked out to 'I'll Make a Man Out Of You', and got up and did some impromptu dance moves for the song. Blaine especially got into the song, and was going hog wild with his own variation of it. Gemma of course, had heard it before, so she wasn't as surprised by it as Alex and Lucy were. But she was very amused to see him fanboy in person at his favorite Disney song, and she chuckled to herself.

Sadly, the movie was over far too soon, and it was getting to be the time when they all needed to head to bed for some good rest for school. Alex and Blaine shuffled back across the hall to their room, yawning, and Gemma and Lucy staggered around the room, trying to stay awake long enough to get ready for bed. They both slept soundly, tired from the exciting weeks off from school, dreaming that the experience would never end.

* * *

The next weekend, Mr. Richardson had kept the Cardinals home for extra rehearsals. He was getting really frantic now, since they had nothing up their sleeves to wow everyone at Regionals. Everybody was stressed out and trying to calm down long enough to try to think of something to bring to the table.

Gemma was spending her time avoiding the stress by working out in the fitness center nearby the school. Students got free membership since they were so close by, and they frequented the place a lot. This was where Blaine found her when he had the same idea to avoid the tension on the Saturday afternoon.

He had just finished with running on the treadmill and took the headphones out from his ears to put his iPod away. He didn't notice with his own music playing, but there was loud music blasting from one of the empty studios down the hall. He wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, cleaned off the treadmill with one of those sanitizing wipes, and went towards the music to figure out what it was.

The closer he got to the studio, the more he recognized the song that played. It was _Halo_, by Beyoncé. He wondered why it would be playing so loud in a fitness center, then he saw why as he peered through the open door. A girl was alone in the room, wearing black leggings and an over-sized blue tee-shirt. Her hair was up in a messy bun and it looked like she couldn't care less what she looked like at the moment.

It was Gemma, and she was wearing toe shoes and dancing along to the song. And she was _good._ Really good. Blaine stood transfixed as he watched her small form move to the music. She was really into the song, like every part of her body was a transmitter for every lyric of the song, an extension of the voice that filled the room. The music pounded through the walls, and it seemed to pound through her soul, too. She wasn't even watching herself in the mirror, she just had her eyes closed and felt her pent up frustration flood through her limbs as she moved gracefully around the room.

_Everywhere I'm looking now_

_I'm surrounded by your embrace_

_Baby, I can see your halo_

_You know you're my saving grace_

_You're everything I need and more_

_It's written all over your face_

_Baby, I can feel your halo_

_I pray it won't fade away_

_I can feel your halo_

_Halo, ooh oh_

When the song was through, Gemma had ended up on the floor, legs thrown to her side and her palms on the floor after spinning quickly and dropping down to the last beat. Her dance was beautiful, and Blaine couldn't help but clap after witnessing something like that.

She whirled around quickly to see him standing in the door, with basketball shorts on and a tee shirt with cut off sleeves. His shirt was soaked with the sweat that dripped from his curly hair and he was holding a water bottle in the crook of his arm since he was using his hands to clap. "What are you doing here?" she asked, a little too accusingly.

He held his hands up in surrender and said, "I was just working out, trying to get away from the tension at school. I should be asking you the same question, since you have the entire gym listening to your soundtrack."

She looked embarrassed. "Oh, right. Sorry about that. I'm just trying to get away from school too. It's driving me crazy."

Blaine looked at her for a minute, and then an idea dawned on him. "Gemma, how would you like to win Regionals? I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea…"

**I own nothing:)**


	9. Breaking Down Barriers

**Enjoy and review! :) **

The Cardinals were on their way to Cleveland, Ohio for Regionals, traveling on a charter bus that smelled like burnt cheese. They put their distaste at the smell aside, since they almost never got to travel by charter bus. This was a privilege for them because Richardson felt so confident in them this time. They hadn't made it Regionals before, so this was a new experience and their director was treating them for making it this far. They were just glad they didn't have to travel three and a half hours on a school bus, and then have to do the same for the way home. This way, everyone got to relax for a little bit before they had to go up on stage and compete against the best groups in the region. No big deal.

Mr. Richardson had brought his wife, who was an instructor for a neighboring dance studio—she was the cheer coach. She was fairly pretty for someone who works out 10 hours a day (sometimes those types look too muscular and you begin to question their gender), and she retained a feminine look that suited her personality. She took no nonsense from anybody, and made sure you got the point. It was clear that you avoid her at all costs. But she looked young and happy to be with her husband, sitting at the front of the bus with the other two chaperones, resting her head on Mr. Richardson's shoulder.

Everybody on the bus thought this was hilarious. They didn't usually see Kate Richardson much, but when they do, it's when she's in her fierce competitive mode. So it was nice to see a softer side of her, even though they made plenty of jokes about it.

The bus rolled to a rest stop along the interstate, and everybody flooded out in a rush to use the restroom (let's just say there was going to be a lot of empty drink containers to clean up that night). Joe Richardson reminded them that they had ten minutes to make it back to the bus before they would be late and have to deal with the consequences (as if), but nobody took heed.

When the ten minutes was nearly up, and a fresh round of refreshments had replaced the ones already emptied on the bus, Mr. Richardson began calling attendance.

"Anderson?" "Here, sir."

"Andrews?" "Yup."

"Blooms?" "Present."

"Cahill?" "I'm here."

"Emerson?" Silence. "Mr. Emerson?" Alex looked up, his concentration broken. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Here." He had been playing guitar hero on someone's DS in the back of the bus. This earned him a glare from Richardson over the top of his reading glasses before he resumed down the list. When he finally reached the end, he called out the last name.

"Vanderbilt?" "We're here," said two voices at once. It was Jesse and Jaime, who were almost inseparable and oftentimes finished each other's sentences. Sometimes they spoke at the same time, which creeped out a lot of their peers.

"Alright then, I think we're all here," said Richardson, glancing around one last time.

"Mr. Richardson?" Blaine's hand shot up. "Yes, Blaine?"

"Um, I think you _are_ forgetting somebody…" He looked pointedly over to where Mrs. Richardson should be sitting. Joe's eyes traveled to where Blaine's look pointed and sighed in annoyance. "Great. We're already late enough. Can we just leave without her?" he said with a huff. Some people laughed uncomfortably. "I'm kidding, you guys. Geez, tough crowd." He stepped off the bus to look for his wife.

Who happened to turn around the corner as her husband disappeared around another. She got on the bus to see nearly everyone stifling back laughter. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Why don't you FIND out?" blurted Jesse, standing up suddenly. She looked quizzically at him. He looked around awkwardly for a moment, then sat back down in his seat with an embarrassed grin on his face.

"Mr. Richardson went to look for you since you weren't on the bus yet. And you got on just as he left..." supplied Blaine.

Kate looked at them for a moment then turned to the bus driver. "Gogogogogo!" she cried, gesturing wildly. Again, a few people tittered uneasily. She turned back to them. "I'm joking, you guys. I would never leave him behind. Because I have no idea how to teach you guys…"

A phone rang in the awkward silence. Jeff answered it, "Uh, yeah. She's here. On the bus. Yeah, she got on like right after you left. Well, sorry, nobody had your number. Yes, everyone is here now. Well except for you. Okay, yeah. Bye, sir."

Mr. Richardson came back on the bus with an exasperated look that pleaded with his students to just be good the rest of the trip and not bother him. He was stressed to the max.

The bus finally got started up, and the first thing everybody heard was, "Lubricate my foot." Everybody burst out in laughter at this. They had been watching _Transformers_ and it was the part when Bumblebee and Optimus Prime were hiding in the backyard. Even Mr. Richardson laughed at this, grateful for some real levity to the tension for the upcoming show.

They were all nervous to reveal a new side to the Cardinals never seen before. It was hoped that the new approach could be taken into warm arms at the competition, and that all their hard work would pay off. This was the hardest they had worked in the existence of the singing group, and they wanted to prove their worth to Westbrook and Ohio in general.

* * *

When the bus finally rolled up to the Performing Arts Center, nearly everybody was feeling the nerves, especially Gemma. Of course she had performed before, countless times, but never in such a setting as this, with so much riding on them to make it to the next level. She wondered if Greenwood was there already, and took out her phone to text Gabe or Amber to see where they were. She hadn't seen them since a brief visit over Christmas break, and that was over three weeks ago. She missed them a lot, and she knew that they wanted to hear about everything that had gone on at Westbrook. She promised herself to find some time to find them before the performances started.

A man came up to the group standing in the giant lobby of the PAC, and looked over his roster. He glanced up at them, "I believe you must be the Cardinals?" Mr. Richardson held out his hand to introduce himself. "Yes, sir. Where are we supposed to go to warm up? I'm afraid I lost my schedule," he said a little sheepishly.

The tall man just peered down at him. "Ah, yes. We'll try to get you a replacement. In the meantime, just relax and enjoy the competition," and he walked off to greet another group that just walked in. The Cardinals stood there for a moment, crowded a corner of the lobby before Richardson clapped his hands and shooed them away. "Go! Find something to do. When I find out the information, I'll call some of you." They scattered quickly.

Gemma went immediately to find some familiar faces. She wandered around until she saw Rocky's short, dark hair above the rest of the crowd. It was lucky that he was extremely tall so she could point out the group. She walked over to them and stood behind them for a moment before Mr. Jones noticed her.

"Oh wow! Hey there, Gemma! How's everything been? We've really missed you here!" He looked happy to see her, actually. She was expecting him to maybe hold a little grudge since she left the school so soon before Regionals. But he was happy to see her happy. He felt extremely guilty that he never said anything to the school counselor about his suspicions; his silence had cost her a lot of pain. He would never forgive himself, and now he vowed to be more interactive with his students. The kids had noticed the change, and not just in him. Most of the teachers felt the same way, and now a lot more bullies were getting consequences because more teachers spoke up and had interventions with their students.

Regardless, Gemma could never go back to Greenwood. There was just nothing there for her anymore. Everyone could see it in the way she now acted around them. It was plain that she would go much farther in life with Westbrook's name on her transcript instead of Greenwood's. They all accepted that even though she couldn't be one of them anymore. Her presence in the group was greatly missed, but they knew that the Cardinals needed her, too.

Gemma hugged Mr. Jones before she answered him. "It's so great to see you all. Everything at Westbrook is just amazing, you should all come visit sometime. I'm so nervous for this though. Everything there is so different. There's so much riding on you. But the pressure is sometimes good. It helps you focus." They nodded as if they understood, but they didn't, not really. Their club was the least popular, whereas the Cardinals were as popular, if not more popular than the sports teams at Westbrook. The school gave them a lot of attention because they were so good, and they were representatives of that world.

They made their way over to a table so they could all talk without being in the way. It was nice to catch up with them, but she could tell from the looks Gabe and Amber were giving her that they wanted to talk to her in private. She flashed them a look that said 'not now' and went on talking to the rest of the group. They carried on for a while, until Blaine found Gemma and told her that they had to go warm up. She said her goodbyes and followed him to one of the green rooms where most of the Cardinals were already stretching their voices and their muscles.

Mr. Richardson walked in and stood at the front of the room and addressed his students. "Now I know you are all nervous for this, but it's time to think of how far we've come. We can do this. I've seen some of our competition out there, and honestly, I really think that we can come out on the top of it all. But whatever happens, I'm still proud of you all for making it this far. You're making Westbrook proud today." They listened in silence, drinking in his words. It was what they needed to hear, and they all relaxed somewhat. "Now let's do this!"

* * *

Blaine stood still behind the heavy curtain, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. His friends didn't usually see him get nervous over something like this, but it wasn't the need to impress that made him nervous. _I shouldn't be doing this,_ he thought. _Why did I let myself get so wrapped up in this? If they ever found out, it'll be the end of me for sure._ He was extremely worried as he thought back to the explosive arguments from his past. He didn't want to repeat those horrible moments, and he contemplated leaving, just quitting this whole thing before it escalated until it was too much to cover up. There was a reason that the Cardinals were so elusive to find on the web.

His brooding was interrupted by Gemma, who walked up to him to wish him good luck. He was the last one on her list, and she wanted to make sure he was okay. He was being really quiet that day. "Hey, Blaine, you okay?"

He looked up at her and put up his the fake smile that shut out the rest of the world. "Yeah, I'm fine. You ready for this?" She wasn't as ready to believe that, but she let him build his walls anyways. She looked into his eyes, trying to find something there that would tell her what was wrong, but she found nothing, and he looked away.

"I just wanted to say thank you for pushing me to do this. I never would have thought that this was what you guys needed." She planted a quick kiss on his left cheek before she went off to her starting position. He stood there, stunned at her gesture, and he put a hand up to his cheek to see if that had really happened. But then the moment was lost as the beginnings strains of the song started and he was about to miss his cue.

_I am thinking it's a sign that the freckles_

_In our eyes are mirror images and when_

_We kiss they're perfectly aligned_

_And I have to speculate that God himself_

_Did make us into corresponding shapes like_

_Puzzle pieces from the clay_

_And true, it may seem like a stretch, but_

_Its thoughts like this that catch my troubled_

_Head when you're away when I am missing you to death_

_When you are out there on the road for_

_Several weeks of shows and when you scan_

_The radio, I hope this song will guide you home_

The Cardinals then began breaking out into a choreographed routine that was unlike anything the audience had seen from them before. They clapped wildly at the moves that Gemma had taught them. They started stepping and pivoting around to the beats of the chorus, and arms shot out everywhere at the correct times.

_They will see us waving from such great_

_Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say_

_But everything looks perfect from far away,_

_'come down now,' but we'll stay..._

Blaine continued singing at the front, moving around the stage to interact with his friends who were singing and dancing along. He was throwing himself into the performance, despite the reservations he had before. It was too late to turn back at this point, he figured.

_I tried my best to leave this all on your_

_Machine but the persistent beat it sounded_

_Thin upon listening_

_And that frankly will not fly. You will hear_

_The shrillest highs and lowest lows with_

_The windows down when this is guiding you home _

_They will see us waving from such great_

_Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say_

_But everything looks perfect from far away,_

_'come down now,' but we'll stay..._

The entire group gathered together at this point, and sank down to crouch on the floor while Gemma tore up the floor during the break. If the audience loved the first breakout dance, then they loved this even more. She was all over the place, but stayed graceful and in character as the song went on.

_They will see us waving from such great_

_Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say_

_But everything looks perfect from far away,_

_'come down now,' but we'll stay..._

The last notes of the song faded as everybody made it to their final positions. The audience roared loudly, loving this new side to the Cardinals, however unusual it may be. The performers held their poses, panting and smiling widely, having given one of their best performances. The curtains closed and when they were out of sight, they began celebrating quietly in case the audience heard them.

It was a mixture of whispering voices and Mr. Richardson appeared in the left wing of the stage and tired to usher them off so the next group could perform. They obliged, and made their way to their seats during the intermission just in time to see the next group starting. They were a mixture of faculty from a nearby high school, and were appropriately called the 'Staff Notes'. They were pretty good, but the Cardinals were still on their performance high to do anything else but pay polite attention while their hearts beat wildly in their chests. It was an agonizingly long time until they would announce the results, because once the performances were over, they had to tabulate the scores and organized the ceremony.

* * *

When the portly emcee finally meandered out onto the stage with the envelope in his hands, nearly all the competitors were sitting at the edges of their seats. All of the directors stood onstage behind the emcee, and they waited patiently (on the outside) for the winners to be called so they could step forward. He started with the fourth runners up, and worked his way to the first runners up. The members of the Cardinals were biting at their nails—they hadn't heard their names called yet and were anxiously awaiting the words that would leave the mustachioed man's mouth.

"And the winners of the 2011 Northern Ohio Regionals competition are…" He looked down at the card in his hand, and smiled. "The Westbrook Academy Cardinals!"

The entire section that they were seated in shook as they all stood up and cheered. Mr. Richardson stepped forward to accept the trophy and the certificate that stated the results. He looked like he was going to faint.

Alex turned to Blaine and yelled, "We're going to Nationals!" He shook Blaine by the shoulders to reinforce the fact, and then turned to some of the others and repeated his exclamation. Blaine just stood as white as paper, unable to say anything. The first thing that crossed his mind was fear. This was certainly going to be in the news. They were finally going to find out the truth. But he pushed it aside because he could see the looks of worry that crossed his friends' faces when he wasn't reacting like they were. He plastered another fake smile on his face and began cheering along with the rest of the group to hide his thoughts.

Later, on the bus ride back home mostly everybody was asleep, tired from the exciting events of the day. Blaine sat next to a window, staring out at it, fighting back the water that brimmed at his eyes. _Not here, _he thought. _Not where everyone could see and ask questions. It's not the right time._ But as much as he tried to hide his shining eyes from everybody else, Gemma saw it when she turned around to answer somebody that called out at her. She was worried about him, and began to question who he really was if he was hiding something from everybody. It was clearly very painful to him, and she wanted so bad to comfort him, but she knew that he would tell her when he was ready. He didn't pressure her into telling him what was wrong, she sort of set that up on her own on accident. She hoped that he could hold it together in the meantime, then, until he could confide in her.

**I own nothing**

**Song is Such Great Heights by The Postal Sevice :)**

**P.S. Reviews make me giddy. I like giddy feelings O.o**

**And the stuff with the bus actually happened to me. It was the most hilarious thing ever!**


	10. Gifts

**Glee hiatus=almost over! :D This week has been so crazy hectic and the Klairs have been glorious to us! P.S. It's Darren Criss' birthday today! **

**I own nothing**

**Please please please review! :D**

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Everything had just about gone back to normal at Westbrook after Regionals, except now all the Cardinals were getting more attention than ever before. The shiny trophy that stood on the large desk in the middle of Cardinal hall was a testament to that.

It was an average day in the lunchroom, when Alex asked Gemma a blunt question. "What are you getting Blaine for his birthday?" He had made sure that Blaine left the table before he asked. He was clear that he wanted them to get together, but come on; he wasn't going to be _that_ obvious in front of them both. He would only do that when he got one of them by themselves. So it was the perfect opportunity to see what Gemma had planned.

She choked on her Bugles. "His birthday? Oh my god, when is it?"

Alex feigned surprise. "You mean you're telling me that you don't know when your favorite soloist's birthday is?" She whacked his arm with the pile of chemistry notes sitting in front of her. "Stop it. Oh my god why didn't you tell me his birthday was coming up? And you didn't tell me when it is!" she added forcefully with a glare.

Alex rubbed his arm and pouted. "It's February 5th… Now I'm not going to help you with coming up with something amazing to give him, now that you've put me out of commission for baseball…" He rotated his shoulder dramatically as if he had thrown his arm out.

Gemma reached across the table to grab his shirt and spoke slowly. "If you don't help me, I swear to god those pictures are gonna find their way mysteriously onto Facebook. And what goes on the internet _never goes away_. Do I make myself clear?"

Alex nodded, afraid of what those pictures might contain and at her sudden intensity. He certainly didn't want to see them or get Gemma even madder. It was a little scary. "Now," said Gemma sweetly, sitting back, "can you go to the mall or something after school with me to find something? You're like his best friend, so you can tell me what he'd like."

Alex stared at her, then said, "Gemma, I can't. I'm arranging a new piece for the Cardinals tonight."

"Oh, well do that first, cause we have to rehearse that tomorrow!" Gemma smiled at him. "But after that, you'll do some digging, and see what he likes?" Alex just nodded back dumbly. Gemma tapped his nose with her index finger. "Thanks, Alex. You're the best!" He nodded again and got up from the table to ponder over that encounter with a puzzled expression on his face. How that went from his opportunity at teasing her for her obvious love for Blaine turned into blackmail, it was beyond him. But all he knew was that now he had to figure out something that Blaine would want from Gemma, and it had to be something _good_. He wanted them to hurry up and do something already, because he noticed the way Blaine had practically eye sexed her during Regionals when she was dancing. It was enough to make someone want to vomit, it was so ridiculous.

He skipped up to his room to find Blaine sitting at his desk, an intense look on his face as he studied something on the screen of his laptop. He had headphones in so he didn't hear Alex's sneaky approach. He was watching some video on YouTube, and when it stopped Blaine guided the mouse to the replay button. Then Alex saw what the video was, and couldn't help from bursting out laughing. Blaine heard him and quickly shut his laptop closed, tugging out his earbuds as he whirled around to face Alex.

"What are you doing here?" he blurted out, eyes narrowing as he tried to hug his laptop close to him. Alex just raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Dude calm down, I just came up here to get my books for English…What were you watching?" He reached quickly for the laptop that was cradled in Blaine's arms and grabbed it before Blaine could react. He opened it to see what the video was. "Really?" he smirked. It was a video of Gemma's old glee club, and she seemed to be the one singing. He couldn't tell though, since it was paused. He looked at the replay button and saw that it had been clicked on 34 times.

"Holy crap, Blaine, how long have you been up here watching this?" he asked incredulously. Blaine sank further into his chair and wouldn't look Alex in the eye. "It's not the only one," he mumbled. "I was trying to see what her old group was like, since they were so good at Regionals. I was surprised that they were only the third runners up." He shrugged. "But then I found all of these." There was a playlist full of videos featuring Gemma at the bottom of the screen.

Alex just looked at him, a grin spreading across his face. He had an idea, and needed to tell Gemma right away…

The text from Alex read: **Meet me in Cardinal Hall after rehearsal. I have the perfect present for you to give a certain someone—A **

Gemma read the text with some uncertainty. She was a little unsure at what Alex had up his sleeve, but she wanted to find out, regardless. She really hoped it was a good idea, because she had no clue what she could give him off the top of her head. She wasn't going to ask him what he wanted because he would probably tell her not to get him anything. He was always like that. She thought he was far too modest, and sometimes he needed to accept a compliment or a gift every now and then. So that was why she wasn't going to ask him about it. This was going to be entirely a secret operation between her and Alex.

Cardinal practice went well, as they started to form a spectacular set list for Nationals coming up soon. They really wanted to steal the show, and tried to think of the best songs that fit their style and would showcase everybody's talent. By the end of the rehearsal, everyone left the room with ideas of songs popping in their heads, and blurting them out to the other Cardinals before they forgot about them.

Gemma lingered around the piano and sat down, plinking at the keys waiting for Alex to shut the doors so they could talk. He shooed Blaine out, claiming that he had to talk to Gemma about something with the new choreography. When he finally got rid of him, he closed the doors quietly behind him and sighed in relief. "Finally."

Gemma stopped her tinkering at the piano and swiveled around to talk to Alex face to face. "So? What is this amazing idea you have?" She looked at him expectantly.

"A CD," he said with a flourish of his hands. She raised her eyebrows at that. "That's it? That's all you can think of? I'm pretty sure he has like every single good CD in existence…" She folded her arms across her chest in annoyance.

"No, not like that kind of CD. A CD of you," he pointed at her.

"Me? Why would he ever want a CD of me?" She wasn't buying it.

Alex tsked at her. "No Gemma, you're not seeing the full picture here. A CD of you. Singing. Blaine loves your voice."

She really wasn't believing him now. "Oh, really? What makes you say that?"

"Because," he paused to smirk at her, "I just found out that he cannot stop watching those videos of you on YouTube. And since my friend still has no clue how to convert YouTube files to mp3s you are going to record him a quality CD with songs covered by you."

She put aside the fact that Blaine had watched all those embarrassing videos of her to scoff at Alex. "Wouldn't he get embarrassed? He probably didn't want me to know that he's seen them all." _But then again, I've seen all of his,_ she wanted to add.

"C'mon, it's the perfect present. He would really love it." He pleaded with her.

She sighed. "Fine. Then you have to help me with the song selections." Alex grinned at her.

"Oh, I'm _way_ ahead of you on that one."

By the end of the week, Gemma was feeling pretty confident in the song choices that she and Alex had picked out. They were all good songs that showed off her voice, and had nice meanings to them. She had grumbled quite a lot at some of Alex's suggestions, but in the end she actually decided to go with a few of them because she personally really liked them (she wasn't going to tell him that, though).

Saturday rolled around, and it turned out to be a nice and sunny day, quite crisp for the first weekend in February. Blaine woke up groggily, but it was okay because he didn't have to go home that weekend. His parents had set aside the next weekend to celebrate his birthday since something had come up that they had to attend. He didn't really care, as long as he didn't have to spend his birthday doing something that he didn't want to be doing. He was plenty content with staying at school with his friends for his birthday.

He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, free of gel because he had uncharacteristically taken a shower the night before. He started showering at night since the competition to try to erase those thoughts from his mind because he was having trouble sleeping. It wasn't until he was fully awake when he noticed his room.

Alex, Lucy, Gemma, Jeff, Jaime, Jesses, and countless other Waldorfs were crowded into the dorm room and had party hats on their heads. "Surprise!" they cried.

He blinked in shock. "Wha—What are you all doing in here? I was sleeping!" His voice was thick with sleep.

"All the better to surprise you! Tricking you into a surprise party is so clichéd! Surprising you as soon as you wake up is so much better!" said Jesse.

He rolled his eyes, stretched for a second in his bed, yawned and then got up. "Alright, fine. Do what you want. What do you need me to do?"

"Just stay there and close your eyes," directed Jaime. He closed them impatiently, and sighed through his nose.

He heard a lot of sounds that would probably frighten him if he knew what was causing them. He just waited until the noises died down and he asked with an irritated sigh, "Can I open my eyes now?"

"Yup," was the affirmative answer from Alex. He opened his eyes again to see the same people, but his room was completely transformed. It looked like somebody had puked some confetti birthday surprise all over his room. Above the door hung a HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAINEY! banner, and streamers were taped up all over the walls and on every available furniture surface. Loudly wrapped gifts were strewn all over the floor since they didn't all fit on the coffee table by the TV. People were practically shoving gifts in his face.

"Whoa, you guys didn't have to do all this! I mean seriously, it's just a birthday." He felt quite a bit uncomfortable at all the attention. Some people backed off, but the majority hung around him, looking to Alex, not quite knowing what to do.

"Blaine, it's not every day you turn 18. Live it up and let us appreciate you and shower you with gifts. We love you here, let us show it. We wouldn't have gotten to Nationals without your voice and Gemma's dancing." Alex was serious. "Just let us do this for you."

Blaine looked around the room at all the people that admired him, and began to give in. He knew that he would have given anything to have all these amazing people with him two and a half years ago, and told himself to stop putting up walls. He needed to be more open, and he could use all the help and support for what he was going through—when it was the right moment to start telling people, of course.

Alex tossed him a long rectangular package wrapped in red paper with blue balloons covering it. "Open it," he commanded. The paper was torn off to reveal the largest Hershey's chocolate bar he had ever seen in his entire life. "What the—Alex what is this?" His eyes widened in shock at the sheer size of it, and he looked over at Alex, with half a crazy look in his eyes.

"It's your dream come true," he answered gently.

"Oh my god, where has this been all my life?" Blaine asked wildly.

"In a candy store, under some M&Ms." Blaine paid attention only to the chocolate and started to tear back the wrappings and attached his mouth to the bar. "Oh my god this chocolate is just—I can't explain all these things I'm feeling right now" There was chocolate smeared all over his face but he didn't care. He was in a sugary bliss.

"Geez Blaine!" said Gemma. "Don't give yourself a sugar coma! There's still more stuff people want to give you, and we'd kind of prefer it if you were fully conscious for it." He stopped mid-chew, and contemplated what she said. Then he looked at the floor and set the bar down carefully. "You're right. I uh, got carried away there for a moment."

So with that the rest of his presents were opened when given to him, and the gift givers began departing the cramped room until it was just Alex, Lucy and Gemma standing there in the middle of the room. Alex whispered something in Lucy's ear. She raised her eyebrows in a smug way but didn't say anything. "Hey Blaine, do you mind if Luce and I step out for a second? We forgot something downstairs and I need her help to get it," said Alex.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Go ahead," said Blaine. They left the room quickly, leaving just Blaine and a confused Gemma. Then it hit her. Of course they would try to get them alone! She narrowed her eyes at the door which they had just gone through. _Oh those—_she stopped herself mid-thought, and then remembered that she hadn't given Blaine her present yet. Then full realization hit her. _Oh. Now I get it,_ she thought. _They want me to give him his present in private…_

"Blaine, I have to get something real quick from my room. I'll be right back," said Gemma, and she dashed across the hall to retrieve the small gift she had finally wrapped last night in shiny silver and red striped paper. She came back and went over to where he had sat down on the couch. Holding the present behind her back, she said, "Okay now, close your eyes."

He sighed. "Do I have to? I mean I've had to do that like a million times today." He glanced at the look on her face that said 'just do it or else'. "Okay closing my eyes now."

"Okay now hold out your hands. Yeah, there." He felt a small square object being placed in his hands. "Open your eyes, and the present." He carefully tore back the shiny paper and found that it was a CD.

"Oh wow thanks," he said. Then he saw what the CD contained. All it had said on the front was Mixes by Gemma. He turned it over to see the contents on the back. It was a lot of his favorite songs, as well as some that he didn't know. He took it out of the case and placed it in his stereo to listen to it. The first track didn't quite sound like the song he knew at first, but then he understood why.

"Oh my god. Wow, Gemma. You recorded all of these?" She nodded at him. "Alex gave me the idea, and he helped me with the arrangements."

Blaine didn't know whether or not to kiss and hug Alex or punch him in the face for basically telling Gemma of his YouTube obsession with her videos. It was (probably not) a coincidence that his favorite songs happened to be ones that Gemma had covered when she was at Greenwood.

"This is just amazing, thank you so much," he pulled her into a huge hug. "You know I really do like the sound of your voice," he whispered into her ear. His warm breath tickled, and she drew back, mildly surprised that he would admit that so freely.

"You know, come to think of it, I'm not the only one with embarrassing YouTube videos from the past." His eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god you know about those?" He was freaking out now. "Who told you about them? Alex? Lucy? Jesse? Jaime?" he demanded. He had to find out so he could do something about it. Just what, he didn't really know. But he wouldn't let them get by without some sort of consequence for her finding out about them.

"Actually, I found them on my own. It was before I really knew Alex and Lucy that well. And for the record, it's okay to sing those songs. They're too cool not to," she tried to reassure him because she could see the distraught look on his face.

He smiled a little at her, before thanking her again. "Just, thanks. I really like it." He hugged her again.

Then they heard giggling coming from outside the closed door. They both stepped back and rolled their eyes. "Alex, Lucy, come on. Don't eavesdrop. It's rude," pointed out Gemma.

Then the door opened and Alex walked in with a giant cake in his hands. "Sorry, but we just got curious when the talking stopped." He winked at them and Gemma's face went bright red. Blaine just looked at him darkly.

"She was giving me my present, and I thanked her for it," said Blaine. He was getting sick of this teasing. He knew that he wouldn't have a chance with Gemma, especially since she's seen his embarrassingly dorky side. And it wasn't fair to Gemma either. She didn't need to hear this crap from Alex. She was probably creeped out by it, especially since she knew that he looked her up on the internet without her permission.

"Whatever you say Blaine, whatever you say," was Alex's remark, as he cut a slice of cake and offered it to Blaine. "Now, Lucy and I are going to eat cake with you, but when we leave, I want you to use this cake for however you see fit."

Blaine said nothing but the pissed off look on his said it all. Alex dodged the piece of cake that went his way, and it flew into the wall, splattering frosting everywhere. Alex ran out of the room, laughing, "Blaine calm down! I'm just kidding!"

Blaine wasn't buying it. "Leave. Now." He was fuming. Alex had gone too far this time. Lucy left the room quietly to look for Alex. They could still hear his faint laughter downstairs. It didn't seem like he understood how pissed off Blaine was.

"I think I'll leave now," said Gemma awkwardly. Blaine just nodded at her, looking at the floor, clenching his fists. How did a great day turn into such a mess? He knew he was going to need to straighten this out later, try to find Alex and talk to him and explain what was going on. But right now, he needed some alone time. He rubbed his forehead as he sat down on his bed. What he needed was a shower, and to relax.

After his long shower, he wiped the steam from the mirror and looked at himself in it. His hair was still plastered to his head, but some of the curls broke free from the rest and stuck up. He ran a hand through it and put it back on the counter. He flexed his arms—he wasn't super buff, but he worked out frequently and had nicely toned arms. Looking at his bare chest, he winced a little. He was pretty pale. Not as pale as the nearly translucent Jaime and Jesse, but pale considering his mom had color. She was half-Filipino, and that's where he got his crazily curly hair from. But he figured that he colored after his dad, who was very white. He sighed, because he always looked so pasty next to Alex, who was Samoan. His dark hair only accentuated his paleness, but he was okay with it. He always thought he looked weird with tan skin, so he could accept being pale. At least he didn't have to worry about burning in the sun. He got a light tan every summer, but it was better than burning.

So as he looked himself over, he was satisfied with himself. Why wouldn't anyone like him? He knew he was nice—he tried to practice that daily, since he could have used all the niceness in the world at some point. He was talented, sure, and he wasn't bad on the eyes. So he didn't really get why Gemma didn't seem to be into him. Maybe he was still being too forward. He toweled his hair dry and pulled a tee shirt on.

Walking over to his bed, he turned on his stereo to turn up the volume slightly. The CD that Gemma had given him was still in it and he listened to her voice softly filling the room. He wasn't going to turn it up any louder—he didn't want her to hear—but he just wanted to listen to the sweet sound. He wanted her so badly, but it seemed like she didn't want him. This was probably the best he was going to get.


	11. Lessons

**Sorry for the lack of an update recently. Busy week, and then I was in Canada for the weekend, and the hotel I was at didn't have free WiFi :( But I got to finish this one and another one, but I want to wait for the next one until I finish the one that comes after that (you'll get what I mean when I post it)**

**Anyways, I hope you like it, and please review, as always! :D**

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Blaine shifted the guitar in his right hand before he lifted his left one to knock on the door lightly. He was feeling a little impatient, but maybe that was just the nerves in his stomach. The door opened mid-rap and he stood there awkwardly before Gemma said something.

"Well, are you coming in or what? 'Cause I don't have a lot of time." She stood there a little impatiently with her hand on her hip, and her foot tapping. "I've got to study for the history test tomorrow."

"Oh, well I'll go if you don't want me to—" He started to turn around, but she grabbed his arm.

"Blaine, relax. I'm not going to scrap guitar lessons with you. I'm just really stressed right now."

"Oh." He couldn't think of anything else to say, so he went over to the couch and sat down. Gemma picked up the guitar he had given her for Christmas and followed him to the couch, sitting down as well.

"Okay, so I thought we could go over those chords from the other day again. I was having trouble remembering them," said Gemma.

Blaine was distracted, but then he saw Gemma looking at him queerly. "Uh, yeah, right. Those chords."

He demonstrated the finger placement on the frets and strummed the strings softly, and Gemma tired to copy his example, but her thumb was on the wrong string.

He moved her thumb over the right spot, but he felt a tingling when he touched her. It was hard to give these lessons to her, because he was always correcting her placement and fixing her hands, and he always felt that rush whenever he did. He tried not to let it show on his face, and went back to strumming the chord until her guitars matched his in the note.

"Alright, good." He looked up and smiled at her. "You've got it now." She smiled back at him.

The rest of the lesson continued like that, and Gemma practiced one of the songs that Blaine had taught her a couple of weeks ago. "You're really getting the hang of this!" he remarked when she nailed it. She beamed, pleased that she was progressing at the new instrument.

It was nearly the end of the hour long tutorial, and Blaine's nerves tightened. He had to do it. He was actually going to do it. It was time to get it over with.

"Hey Gemma?" He could feel his hands start to shake. He hoped she wouldn't be able to see.

"Yeah?"

He rubbed his hands together. "So you know how the showcase is coming up?" She nodded. "Well, I wanted to run this song by you to see if it was okay enough for me to perform. I want your opinion."

"Okay," she answered. He picked the guitar up from where he placed it on the floor next to the couch and removed a pick from his pocket. He hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath, and then began to pick out the notes to the song. His voice started out softly, and he stuttered a little. He cursed himself in his mind, but kept on.

_My eyes are no good, blind without her_

_The way she moves I'd never doubt her_

_When she talks, she somehow creeps into my dreams_

_She a doll, a catch, a winner_

_I'm in love and no beginner could ever grasp or understand just what she means_

_Baby, baby blue eyes, stay with me by my side, _

_Until the morning through the night (can't get you out of my mind)_

_Baby, stand here, holding my sides, _

_Close your baby blue eyes every moment feels right_

_And I may feel like a fool, but I'm the only one dancing with you_

_Oh oh oh, oh oh oh ohh, oh oh oh, ohhh_

Gemma was in shock. Was this song meant for her? She blushed profusely and looked down. Blaine noticed that, but he still kept on with the song he started. He needed to finish it, because he had already persuaded himself to start it. He needed to tell her, somehow.

_I drive her home when she can't stand_

_I'd like to think I'm a better man for not letting her do what she's been known to do_

_She wears heels and she always falls, I let her think she's a know-it-all_

_But whatever she does wrong, it seems so right_

_My eyes don't believe her, but my heart swears by her_

_Baby, baby blue eyes, stay with me by my side, _

_Until the morning through the night (can't get you out of my mind)_

_Baby, stand here, holding my sides, _

_Close those baby blue eyes every moment feels right_

_And I may feel like a fool, but I'm the only one dancing with you_

_Oh oh oh, oh oh oh ohh, oh oh oh, ohhh_

He was looking into her eyes now. They weren't baby blue, but instead a deep, almost indigo color. Tiny flecks of teal flashed in her eyes as she sat listening to him sing for her. She knew that the song was for her now. It was obvious in the way that he wouldn't break eye contact with her now. All he wanted to do now was to keep staring into those windows and sing his love for her.

_I swear I've been there, I swear I've done that_

_I'll do whatever it takes just to see those_

_Baby, baby blue eyes, stay with me by my side, _

_Until the morning through the night (can't get you out of my mind)_

_Baby, stand here, holding my sides, _

_Close those baby blue eyes every moment feels right_

_And I may feel like a fool, but I'm the only one dancing with you_

_Oh oh oh, oh oh oh ohh, oh oh oh, ohhh_

_My eyes are no good, blind without her_

_The way she moves I'd never doubt her_

_When she talks, she somehow creeps into my dreams_

When he finished the last of the song, he let his voice soar up and hit the final note. His eyes were bright as he looked into hers to gauge her reaction.

What she did next was the least expected. She took his guitar away from him and sat closer to him. She cupped his face in her hands and drew him closer, until their foreheads were about to touch. He could see every eyelash and the faint freckles across her nose from the time she spent out in the sun during the summer. He closed his eyes and leaned in; closer, closer, closer, until…

A blast of sound woke him up. He shot up straight in his bed, a slight sheen of sweat covering his skin, and he fumbled around on his night stand for the snooze button so he didn't wake Alex. He fell back down on his pillow in defeat.

So he was having that dream again. Usually, it ended in one of two ways: she was so won over by the song, she was going to confess her own love for him and they would be about to kiss (that was always when his alarm sounded); or she would be so offended at the thought that he liked her like that, she would slap him across the face. The first time he dreamed of the latter, he had to go to the bathroom and check to make sure that there wasn't a palm mark across his face. It had felt that real to him.

That was what he was most afraid of. He resigned himself to admiring from afar because he made himself believe that she didn't like him in that way through those dreams. It was more often than not that the dream would end the second way, and he took it as a bad omen. It was all it took to discourage him. Those dreams—no, nightmares—were enough to convince himself that she didn't feel that way.

It was why he couldn't bring himself to do just what he would do in the dream in real life. He had to admit to himself that he just didn't have the guts. Why run the risk of a rejection like that? He even figured that she probably liked somebody else. He was still unsure of how to act around her after the incident at her old school. She had been there for a few months, yes, but she was still so new to everything at Westbrook and still needed guidance every now and then. Blaine wanted more than anything to be her guide, but he almost felt that he needed to sort through his own problems before he become any kind of mentor towards Gemma.

* * *

He stood outside her door again, but he pinched himself to make sure that he really was awake this time. He wasn't going to screw it up. Not today. Not when his whole friendship rode on a single choice. He rapped lightly like always, and she answered the door with a smile. She grabbed his guitar from him and pulled him into the room, closing the door. She didn't catch the bewildered look on his face, because this was not how he was expecting to be greeted.

"Okay, so I thought we could go over those chords from the other day again. I was having trouble remembering them," said Gemma.

Blaine blinked in a stunned silence. _Whoa_,_ déjà vu right there,_ he thought. Gemma didn't comment on the face he made, but she only led him over to the couch. "Well, are you coming? I've got a lot to do, and I want to go over those chords!" She clapped her hands together impatiently.

This was certainly different than what he dreamed the night before, yet it was so similar. It was creeping him out a little, actually. But he just sat down next to her and tried to carry on as if nothing had happened.

He helped her with the chords, and when she asked him for advice for a song to sing at the showcase, all he could say was to sing from the heart.

"If there's something you want to say to someone, then the best way to express what you're feeling is through song," he told her. "At least that's what I try to do."

She thanked him for the advice, and soon after the lesson was finished. He left in a little bit of a hurry, she thought, but maybe that was because he had to go practice his own song. She was really freaking out ever since Richardson announced his 'brilliant' plan for determining the soloists for Nationals. Instead of the normal audition in front of him and the Cardinals' student council, he was trying to encourage creativity and there was no better way to do so than put on a show.

It was going to be in front of the whole school, and there would be a reception of sorts during the performances. The show was to be held in the gymnasium, since there was a decent stage in there, and plenty of room to mingle and still have seats set up to watch. Some tables were going to be set up as well, since dinner was going to be served. The point was to have the school vote since the crowd loved them so much at Regionals. Richardson was looking for new ideas to take the Cardinals farther, and the showcase was open to any type of performance. He decided it was time for the Cardinals to take steps forward and expand their talents by being open to everything.

The members were excited for this, but that meant it would be even harder for them to come up with an idea. It was almost too broad of a category, and it was difficult to narrow down the options. Gemma especially was at a loss. There was a lot that she wanted to do, but she finally settled on singing a song. Now, the only obstacle was finding the right one.

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**I own nothing, and the song is Baby Blue Eyes by A Rocket To The Moon :)**


	12. The Showcase Part One

**Okay, so this is part one of the chapter. I wanted to cut it in half because there's two things kinda going on here, and they needed to be separate.**

**I hope you like it, and please review! :D**

**And sorry that last one was so short, it was just something I needed to get out of my system and it just ended up being that way...**

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The time had come for the showcase, and everyone was frantically preparing for it last minute. Late nights were spent practicing, and a muddle of voices could be heard if a passerby happened upon walk by Waldorf or Cardinal Hall. Gemma herself was feeling the pressure to select a good song for the competition. She could rock any song thrown at her—she knew that—but it was the meaning of the song that was stopping her short. The way Blaine had been acting lately was driving her crazy. It was mixed signals everywhere; yet he was getting increasingly distant the closer the showcase and Nationals loomed. She couldn't begin to guess what was bothering him, but she continued to try and act normal. Well, as normal as one can act when they like their best guy friend.

Every time he looked at her, one gaze into those warm hazel eyes, her knees went weak. She always felt the need to sit whenever he was around, because he had that much of an effect on her. Performing at Regionals was the hardest challenge ever, because she had to dance the whole time, and she could feel his hot gaze on her. She couldn't blame him though. That peck on the cheek was completely out of the blue, and she ran away before she could see him react and it left her just as confused as it probably did for him.

It embarrassed her that she did that, but she couldn't take it back. Besides, it seemed to cheer him up for the performance, which was good since he seemed to be contemplating something serious beforehand, as if he were going to walk out on everyone. It was lost on her as to what went on inside his head, so she tried not to think about it.

She wanted more than anything to tell Blaine how she felt, but she was afraid of how he could react. He wasn't an open book, like she was. It would be impossible to read what his face would say, so she wanted a song that would convey her thoughts but not single him out. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass him in front of the whole school.

Before anyone knew it, it was finally the night of the showcase and both Blaine and Gemma were second guessing their song choices. Gemma was hoping hers wasn't too gutsy, for lack of a better word, while Blaine was wondering if his was going to able to tell enough. But they were for different purposes. Gemma wanted to sing at Nationals more than anything, while Blaine just wanted to express himself. He couldn't care less if he sang at Nationals. In fact, he almost preferred he didn't get the solo. It was one less thing to worry about. But he supposed he would have to accept it if he got it.

* * *

Gemma stood behind the curtain on the side of the stage, ready to go. She was the first to perform, and she was quite nervous. She straightened her uniform and did a deep breathing exercise to calm herself. There was a fumbling sound and then Mr. Richardson's voice could be heard through the microphone thanking the audience for coming and supporting the Cardinals. He talked a little about the group and their accomplishments and then about the aim of the show and then he was introducing Gemma as the first act.

The curtain opened and Gemma walked out, followed by Alex, Jeff, and Jesse. Alex took a seat behind the drums, while Jeff held his electric guitar and Jesse grabbed the bass that sat on a stand near the edge of the stage. Gemma went to the front where the mic and the stand were set up, and she put her hands on it, ready to begin. She nodded back to the boys behind her, and they launched into the song she had selected.

She hit a high note that was edged with a raw edge nobody had ever heard from her before. Then, she started to sing the lyrics powerfully, belting it out to express all the confusion and mixed messages she had been getting, and hoped that her message was clear.

_You've got me down on the floor,_

_So what you bring me down here for?_

_You've got me down on the floor,_

_So what you bring me down here for?_

_If I was a man I'd make my move,_

_If I was a blade I'd shave you smooth,_

_If I was a judge I'd break the law,_

_And if was from Paris, if I was from Paris,_

_I would say ooh la la la la la la la _

_ooh la la la la la la la, ooh la la la la la la la, ooh la la la la la la la_

Blaine sat in the middle of the audience, transfixed. He was really confused now. She was clearly frustrated at something. Was it about him? Or was there somebody else that she liked and wanted them to make a move? Either way, Gemma was putting everything into the song and wanted to get some message across. He hoped that it didn't mean that she liked someone else, or worse, mad at him. He could bear it if she were with someone else, because it meant that she would be happy. But if she were mad at him, then she wouldn't be happy, and it would be because of him. That was the _last_ thing he wanted.

He sat contemplating this the whole song and when she finished on the last 'ooh la la', the crowd went wild. They loved they way she made her voice sound so unusually raw, and they wanted more of it. She had certainly wowed them with her song.

* * *

Blaine was the last to go, so when the third to the last performer was up there, he was backstage getting ready for his own turn. He was more nervous to play the song, especially after the show Gemma had put on. His dreams weren't making things any better as he kept replaying the scenes in his mind. It had felt so real, and he wanted the version where everything turned out right to be the ending. But he couldn't read the future and that was what made him scared. It was the one thing he couldn't read from Gemma.

He could read anything on her except if she liked him or not. It didn't help that Lucy and Alex were always cracking lewd jokes and trying to get them alone. Just because they were a girl and a guy who were friends didn't mean that they wanted to hook up. But then again, that's all that Lucy and Alex seemed to do sometimes. Blaine hadn't ever had a serious relationship before so he was treading deep water when it came to reading non-platonic feelings. He just hoped his song would be able to reach out to her.

It was finally his turn, and he walked out on stage. It was easy for him to get on that stage—he made any stage seem tiny whenever he performed with the Cardinals despite his short stature (he was only about 5'10")—and the empty stage seemed to exaggerate the fact even more. He commanded it with his 'win-every-one-over' attitude, and almost never failed at it. He sat down at the piano on the far side of the stage, adjusted the mic and cleared his throat a little before starting the beginning chords. There was a short intro before he actually started to sing, and when he did, the audience could tell that he had changed the lyrics for a better fitting point of view.

_I think you're pretty without any makeup on_

_I think you're funny when you tell the punch-line wrong_

_I knew you got me, when you let your walls come down, down._

_Before you met me I was a wreck bout things_

_We're kinda heavy, you brought me to life _

_Now every February, you'll be by valentine, valentine._

He was getting into it like he always did, and he was just looking off into space, closing his eyes every now and then and just letting the pure emotion channel through him as he continued the song.

_Let's just talk all through the night_

_There's no need to rush_

_We can dance until we die_

_You and I, we'll be young forever_

_You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on_

_I can't sleep lets run away and don't ever look back don't ever look back_

_My heart stops when you look at me_

_Just one touch and maybe I'll believe_

_This is real so take a chance and don't ever look back, don't ever look back._

He was looking around at the audience now, searching for something, and then he settled for a moment on a pair of dark blue eyes flecked with teal before looking away again.

_When you're around me life's like a movie scene _

_I wasn't happy until you became my queen_

_I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece, I'm complete._

His fingers pounded on the keys as he went into the next chorus. The momentum had started, and he wasn't going to stop.

_You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on_

_I can't sleep lets run away and don't ever look back don't ever look back_

_My heart stops when you look at me_

_Just one touch and maybe I'll believe_

_This is real so take a chance and don't ever look back, don't ever look back._

_I will get your heart racing if that's what you need in this teenage dream tonight_

_Let you rest your head on me if that's what you need in this teenage dream tonight._

_You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on_

_I can't sleep lets run away and don't ever look back don't ever look back_

_And my heart stops when you look at me_

_Just one touch and maybe I'll believe_

_This is real so take a chance and don't ever look back, don't ever look back._

He belted out the last part, then switched to a soft crooning for the next two lines. Those were some of the most important messages he wanted to get across and he wanted to deliver them with care.

_I will get your heart racing if that's what you need in this teenage dream tonight_

_Let you rest your head on me if that's what you need in this teenage dream tonight._

The song ended with a big glissando. The audience loved it and gave him a standing ovation. He was a little taken aback from the thunder, because he was still wrapped up in the high from the song. But there was only one reaction that he cared about, and he searched again for the eyes he had locked onto shortly before. When he finally found them, he saw a look of puzzlement in them before she realized that he was staring at her and the look disappeared from her eyes. Her eyebrows unfurrowed and she put a smile on her face as she clapped along with the crowd, but he knew it was fake.

He was crushed. He was almost positive that he could make himself clear by changing the song. But the look on her face before she switched it off said it all. That she certainly wasn't expecting it. It seemed like his worst nightmare had come true. He tried to put on a smile for the audience to show his appreciation for theirs, but it was weak.

The curtain closed and he jogged over to the stairs at the side of the stage. He needed to get away, and now. But then he was intercepted by none other than Gemma and her mom. That was the last thing he wanted to be around. He tried to sneak by, but they had already seen him and Karyn was pulling him into a huge hug.

"Wow, Blaine that was incredible! I am in love with the way you changed the song!" She looked around slyly, and put her hand to the side of her mouth, as if she were divulging a secret, "and I think you really gave Katy Perry a run for her money!" He nodded in thanks absentmindedly.

"Was it for anyone in particular?" She asked innocently. He widened his eyes a little, on the verge of telling the truth, but then he remembered seeing Gemma's reaction, and answered, "No, not really. I just wanted to take a different point of view on the song."

"Well, it worked!" Karyn beamed at him. "Really, that was beautiful." She patted his arm, then turned to Gemma. "And what about Miss Gemma here, huh? I never knew my little girl had that much punch in her!" Gemma just blushed modestly. "Don't you think, Blaine?"

He nodded more enthusiastically this time. "Yeah Gemma, you were great!" Karyn smiled from ear to ear and said, "I'm just so proud of her. I'm confident that she'll go far with what she wants to do." Gemma looked really happy to hear that from her mom and gave her a little hug. "Thank you, mom."

Blaine watched with a blank face, but inside a million of emotions were running through him, the most prevalent being anger. He had to leave, this instant or else things would get ugly. He spoke up, interrupting Gemma and her mother politely and excused himself.

That stumped Gemma. He left so quickly, and she started after him. Her mom asked after her, "Gemma what's wrong? Where are you going?"

She answered over her shoulder as she tried to keep him in sight. "That's not like him. There's something wrong and I have to find out. Sorry mom, but he's my friend and I need to see what's wrong." Karyn just shooed at her. "Gemma honey, I'd be surprised if you _didn't_ help him out. Go, don't worry about me."

Gemma nodded and turned her attention to following him, but she found that he had disappeared from sight altogether.

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Songs are Paris (Ooh La La) by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (they are fantastic, by the way), and Teenage Dream (Boyce Avenue version). I just love what they did with the lyrics and I thought they fit so well :)**

**I own nothing.**


	13. The Showcase Part Two

**Okay, wow. This turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would...**

**Sorry, but please don't expect them all to be this long. It sort of snowballed.**

**Anyways, here's part deux to the showcase.**

* * *

Gemma wandered throughout the entire school three times trying to find Blaine. She had spent about an hour in the expansive halls and was about to give up until she heard a tremendous crash coming from Cardinal Hall, which she had happened to walk by once again. She was puzzled because she expected to find Blaine either there or in his dorm room, but when she checked each time, no sign of him was to be found. Her exchange with her mom gave him the opportunity to get ahead, and that's how she lost track.

She peeked in through the doors, searching around the room, but yet again, there was nobody there. "Blaine, are you there?" she called quietly. No answer. She repeated it a bit louder this time, and silence met her once more. She turned to leave, thinking that she had imagined the sound when it came again, from inside the room. Then she noticed one of the practice room doors was shut and there was light leaking from the space between the door and the floor.

A little voice inside her head went "Aha!" and she quickly slipped inside the choir room and closed the great doors behind her. She always liked the way the doors closed with finality, giving the room an almost hermetic seal. She made her way silently towards the now-quiet practice room, but then she could hear a hushed fumbling and then another crash, followed by a slurred curse.

Her eyebrows furrowed together in concern, and she knocked on the door lightly. She wasn't going to barge in on him; that would be rude. She knocked again when there was no answer, and the door wrenched open violently, revealing Blaine. But there was something completely wrong about his appearance. His blazer was strewn haphazardly on the floor and his tie was loosened. Several of the top buttons of his shirt were missing, revealing a patch of sparse hair on his chest and his sleeves were pushed up his arms.

He looked at her for a moment, then returned to where he must have been sitting at the player piano in the corner of the small room. She followed him in, and sat down on one of the chairs beside the piano. Most of the chairs were knocked about and some of the music stands lay on their sides on the floor, which explained the multiple crashes. They sat in silence before she spoke up.

"Blaine, what was that about? You completely deserted us. You never interrupt people. Don't think I don't notice that." A note of concern was deeply prevalent in her voice.

He just turned to her with sad eyes. "I don't really think you want to know," he said finally. His voice came out thick and gravelly. "There's not really a way I can think to say it."

"Then sing it. You told me that the best way to express yourself is through song." He looked at her, puzzled, not remembering. His eyes were a bit glassy, she noticed. Her own eyes traveled to the glass of amber liquid sitting on top of the piano, half-full. He followed her eyes, and took the glass in his hands, and downed the rest. He grimaced at the taste, but he kept it down.

"You really shouldn't be drinking, Blaine. Besides, where did you get that stuff? Alcohol is prohibited." She frowned at him.

"Alex keeps a supply. I turn a blind eye because I don't really care as long as I don't have to drink it." He started laughing all of a sudden. "But now, I think I've found a new favorite drink."

"Blaine, you're drunk," she said bluntly.

"No, I'm not," he said huskily. "If I were drunk, I'd know. I've been drunk before, and it didn't hurt as much as this. I just need to keep drinking more." He reached beside him and pulled out the bottle of whiskey he had hidden next him and reached again for the glass. She intercepted him and took both items from him.

"The last thing you need is to actually get drunk," she said disgustedly.

He pouted for a moment, then nearly shouted out at her. "Alright, fine, if you really want to know, I'll sing it."

She was put off by his abrupt change of topic, but she listened to him as he plunked on the piano. Definitely not his best playing. It was the words that she had to pay attention to anyways. He dragged out the beginning, mainly because he missed his cue, and kept playing the same opening bars until the light went on and the lyrics came to him.

_I'm two cups into my coffee break_

_I'm sitting alone in the cafe front way_

_Reading all by myself_

_I'm turning my cell off just to breathe_

_'Cause everyone I know just keeps calling me_

_And I just need a little time_

_'Cause I've over committed myself_

_I guess this is growing up_

_I'm sleeping so little these days_

_I guess this is growing up_

_I'm feeling things are about to change_

_I'm guessing this is growing up_

_Yeah, I'm guessing this is growing up_

His eyes filled up with tears, she noticed, but he kept going. It was remarkable the way he could still play and sing well when he was drunk (Yes, he was in fact drunk. His judgment was clearly off). The clumsiness from before seemed to melt away as his song progressed.

_And my mom hates my guts_

_She has every reason to_

_For all the things I do_

_And it breaks me just to know that_

_I've torn her apart so many times, so many times_

_'Cause I've over committed myself_

_I guess this is growing up_

_I'm sleeping so little these days_

_I guess this is growing up_

_I'm feeling things are about to change_

_I'm guessing this is growing up_

_Yeah, I'm guessing this is growing up_

His voice was really raw now, and she could almost feel the lump growing in his throat as he sang out. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen or heard. This was the most honest she had ever seen him. He usually was when he sang, but there was something about his loss of inhibitions that made her feel closer to him while remaining completely platonic.

_I don't wanna change_

_I wanna stay_

_Lying were I lay_

_Eyes closed set down on the pillow_

_Better change, before it's too late_

_I'm guessing this is growing up_

_Now I'm done with my coffee break_

_I turn on my phone now that I've grown up _

He finished the song with a real sob that caught in his throat and he plunged his face down on the piano, hitting a bunch of keys and making an ugly sound. He sat like that for a few moments, breathing deeply with his back shaking slightly, and Gemma just watched him silently. Then she took his hand and sat next to him on the bench. She turned his face towards her and stared at him, then spoke:

"Blaine, please be as clear with me as you can for the moment. I need you to tell me what happened. Why you left. Why you're in this state, because I only have the wildest of guesses. For me to understand, you need to tell me. Singing is the first step. Now take that, and convey it into your own words. Please, Blaine. I want to help you."

His thick eyebrows knit together slightly, and he opened his mouth a little like he was going to say something. It moved for a fraction of a second, then he closed it. This happened a couple more times until Gemma squeezed his hand to circulate some sense into him. Another time, his lips parted, but sound came out.

"My parents don't know what it is I do here," he said, voice laced with lead. He looked at Gemma's confused face and kept talking. "They don't know that I do music."

"But I thought you said that they supported you and your music," she said, even more confused.

The laugh that came from him sounded like a brusque bark. "They did. Until I was in high school. They began hinting to me that I should start focusing on a good career. That I should take over the family business. That making music is silly and not a real way to earn a living." His face darkened.

"But I rebelled. I told them I wouldn't stop playing my music no matter what, and you know what they did?" She shook her head shortly at him. "They cut me off. They disowned me. They were so disgusted that I wanted to pursue something so pointless, in their opinion. They took away all of my instruments and I had to move out, even." Gemma looked horrified. She covered her mouth with her hand, "Oh Blaine, what did you do?"

He scoffed. "What else could I do? I lived with a friend. He was the best friend I had, because once all the other kids at my old school found out that I was disowned, they dumped me too. I was worthless. Gemma, I could stand being without money and material possessions. But it was the music that I needed. That, and the need to belong and feel like I was worth something. I would do anything to get that back. I felt like shit every day because of the way everyone treated me. So that's when I came up with the idea to transfer here to Westbrook.

"It was before the Cardinals got much recognition, and so I thought it would be a safe bet to join if I went here. I thought I could cover up my intentions by wanting to go to a prep school. That would show my parents that I was serious about college and my future. Whatever it took to please them. They almost seemed happy to sign the papers, like they were getting rid of me, a burden. But for the first time, I was beginning to be happy because I felt like I had found my home.

"I spent two weeks in this Hall when I first came to this school, just accustoming myself to music again before I could let myself be around anyone. I was afraid because I didn't know how anyone would treat me. If they were going to find out about me. If they were going to think I was as worthless as my parents thought I was. Music was what brought me here, but it was what saved me." He raised his head to look at her so she could understand how serious this was. "Gemma, I was seriously depressed before I came here."

Tears welled in her eyes as she took this in. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. He always seemed so strong, so confident, so indifferent to negativity. She had assumed that he had always been like that. She didn't pause to think, but she just pulled him into a comforting hug, her hands rubbing soothing circles on his back. Right now, he needed her. For the first time, she was the one to be the comfort, and she wasn't about to shirk from what she believed to be her duty first and foremost as one of his closest friends.

After a short while, he pulled away to finish his story. "I decided to do something risky. I wanted more than anything to be a part of the Cardinals. So when I tried out, I made a deal with Richardson that he try to keep the group as elusive as possible. No contacting my parents, whatsoever. No newspaper articles. No videos posted on the internet. Nothing that would give away my betrayal to my parents. He's the only one I've told, besides you now, and he's been good to his word.

"But lately, I've been getting these paranoid feelings. It started at Regionals, before the performance. I looked out on that stage and I thought 'Wow, this is really what I want to do with the rest of my life'. But as soon as I thought that, I remembered my parents, and their disapproval of my music. I don't have the freedom to do whatever I want. They're expecting me to finish out here at Westbrook, then go on to an Ivy League school, then medical school after that.

"I hit me hard that I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be leading myself on and keep up with the delusion that I can do what I want. Because I never have. I never will. My parents have always seen to that. And it cracked inside me tonight when I saw you and your mom. How proud she was of you, and how I would _never, ever_ hear that from either of my parents' mouths. I didn't sing tonight to try for a spot on Nationals. I just sang because I wanted to sing. I wanted to sing my feelings, but even then, I think they were lost." Another puzzled look crossed Gemma's face, but it slid by quickly, replaced by the same look of concern she had been wearing for the last fifteen minutes there in the small room with him.

"If my parents find out, Gemma, everything I've worked for will go to waste. Everything. They will cut me off, for good. No third chance. And then every hope I would have at any kind of future will be out of the picture. I can't let that happen. I can't let them do that to me, Gemma. I don't think anybody knows what it's like. To not belong anywhere. To not belong to your _own family_. They're the people that are supposed to accept who you are and what you want to do and let you follow your dreams. Instead, they threaten to disown their _only son_, their _only child_ and be okay with that, just because he doesn't want to do what they planned for him? That's so fucked up, but it's my life.

"The thing is, I'm the happiest when I sing. I think you showed me that when I met you. We had just started gaining popularity at school and we won sectionals, and it was a big deal, but I was losing inspiration. Then we met, and it was your friendship and your passion for music and your fearlessness that gave me that inspiration back. I thank you for that, I really do. But I don't know how to choose between music or my future. It scares me, the thought that everything I hold close to me could be ripped out from under from me, _again_.

"I don't know how I can go on and continue to Nationals if my parents could possibly find out. Richardson is telling me he is just _hounded_ for interviews daily since we won Regionals. I think sooner or later, they're going to find out. They've just pretended the whole time that it never happened and that I'm just another high achiever shooting to get into med school. You saw them at the party, remember?" His face turned into a bitter sneer.

"That was just all an act. They pretend everything is right with the world. They can't handle the thought that sometimes other people can control things. They just need to be in control. And I'm tired of letting them control me, but it's so hard to defy everything they say, because I know that they'll be _so_ disappointed in me when they find out." His paranoia was getting worse: he was shifting from saying 'if' to 'when' and the fact was probably not lessened due to the alcohol coursing through him.

"I'll tell you, if they knew that you were just as passionate and involved in music as I was, and thinking about a career in it, they would just put on that façade they've perfected oh so well. The one that makes you think they're interested, but as soon as you turn your back, they're slashing you and your beliefs and everything that you live for and when you meet them again, that façade is back up, but you can see right through it to their disdain and it makes you feel like slime.

"That's why I just sang that. It's time for me to grow up, and face my parents. Accept their ways. Because I don't know how I can live on without their acceptance."

Gemma had yet to untangle it all. He hated his parents, but he still wanted their approval? That didn't make any sense to her. She asked him why he felt like he needed it so bad.

"Didn't you just listen to me?" he practically shouted at her. But there was something he wasn't telling her. Something big, she could feel it.

"What is it that you're not telling me?" she asked. "What about your friend before? The one you stayed with? I'm sure he could help you out and talk to you," she offered. She looked questioningly at him.

He couldn't look her in the eyes this time. "I can't," he said.

"Why not?"

He bit his lip before he answered her. "Because he's dead."

Shock flooded across her face. "Blaine, what happened?"

"He died in a car accident right after I came here. He was actually on his way to visit me. We had been best friends since first grade," he said slowly. They sat in a moment of sadness; Blaine remembering his lost friend, and Gemma thinking of her own losses.

"So is that why you're afraid to face your parents? Because you feel like you don't have anybody to back you up?" She now understood.

"Yes. It's just—the people here are oblivious to my story. You're now the only one who knows, besides Richardson, and even he doesn't know the whole thing. I don't know how they would react to what they would hear. I don't want to mess up their impression of me. It's the first time I've ever been appreciated for who I am, and I don't want to be pitied."

"Blaine," she said with and edge of command in her voice. "Look at me." He turned towards her. "People here are always going to respect you. Look at the way I came into Westbrook. I was a victim of sexual assault. I've been bullied. I've had crap thrown at me all my life, and it's only here that I can be myself, too. You need to realize that if the kids here can accept my past, they can accept yours, too.

"And they're not going to pity you. If anything, the worst you'll get is more respect for you, for staying strong."

Blaine shook his head. "But that's the thing, Gemma. I can't even take my own advice! I'm chickening out! I'm second guessing myself and that's what's making me hate myself. For thinking that my parents will love me if I do what they say. I'm deluding myself into thinking that I could be happy stifling who I am in order to be accepted. That's the opposite of what I told you."

Gemma didn't say anything, but just wrapped him in another hug. She tried to convey all her support in it, to reassure him that it was going to be okay. "You'll get through this," she said softly, because now he was reaching for the bottle again and took a giant swig from it.

She broke away, trying to take it from him, but gulped the rest down before she could get it. She rolled her eyes. "Blaine, seriously, you don't need more alcohol."

"Yesh I duuurr," he slurred. He was getting drunker by the minute as the booze threaded through his bloodstream and to his head. He was seeing pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows framing his vision everything was going blurry. He wanted to get out some sort of coherent thought before he blacked out. "Gemmerr, I jus' wan' tell you thank youuu ferr being hewre todawy. I like youuu an I—" He stopped short and grabbed Gemma's face in his hands and smashed his lips to hers.

Her body tensed and she pulled back immediately. "Oh my god Blaine what the hell are you doing?" She pushed him away. "You're so drunk, you're not thinking straight! Oh my god!" she said again. She stood up. Blaine sat back on the floor where he landed from when she pushed him off.

"Oh gee sorry," he slurred more. "I dunnno wha came over me." His eyes were crossing and he looked very nauseous all of a sudden. "Gemma, I don't feel so good."

She sighed. As much as that was unexpected and totally inappropriate, he was still her friend. She grabbed his hand and led him out of the room to Waldorf. She stopped outside the door to the bathroom there, and took him in there. She hurried to get him situated over the toilet bowl and closed the door. She sat next to him as he started retching into the porcelain bowl. She rubbed comforting circles on his back again and stayed with him until the vomiting turned to dry heaves, then stopped altogether.

She looked back to him and saw that he had slumped into the corner and was drifting asleep. She shook his shoulder and woke him up enough to show him to his room. She grabbed some flannel pajama pants and a ratty t shirt from his drawer and put them in his hands. "Change into this and go to sleep." He blinked her, eyes still glazed, and then took his button-up off. He started on the t-shirt he wore underneath and had pulled it halfway over his head.

Gemma could not help but stare. She knew that he kept in shape, but she had no idea that he was actually _chiseled_ like that. Her eyes went to his abs first then followed the trail of dark hair that led to a V…

She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Blaine, go finish that in the bathroom. I didn't mean strip right in front of me."

He mouthed a long 'ohhhh' and looked away a little awkwardly and stumbled into his bathroom. Alex wasn't back yet from the showcase, and Gemma supposed she should return to it soon. When all the performers were done, Richardson was going to put on some presentation, then have everyone vote, then announce the winners at the very end. She was surprised it wasn't over yet because she felt like she had been gone a long time.

Blaine came out of the bathroom with his pajamas on and staggered over to his bed, and burrowed under the covers.

Gemma opened the door to leave but turned back to Blaine. "Do you need anything before I go?"

He pushed the covers down from his chin a little more, and shook his head before he closed his eyes and rested his head back on the pillow. Within a few moments, he was snoring softly, and Gemma turned off the light and closed the door, stepping out into the hall.

_What the _hell_ was all of that?_ she asked herself. _He—he kissed me. Granted, he was drunk. But he actually kissed me._ She had always wondered what it would be like to kiss him, and now she half knew. It would have been totally different if he wasn't drunk and didn't taste like spirits and wasn't delirious and if he actually liked her. She wrote it off as a heat-of-the-moment-grateful-for-company kind of thing. She was too afraid to read into it because she knew it would confuse her even more.

He was actually being reasonable until he grabbed the bottle again and finished it off. That bottle was almost _half-full_, and he drank it all. She was surprised he wasn't poisoned from it, but he seemed to handle it well enough, aside from the expected goofiness and poor judgment. She hoped it didn't become a habit with him. He didn't need to add a drinking problem to mess she had discovered to be his life.

She wanted to help sort them out, but first, she had to be completely honest with herself about where her affections lay about him. She didn't want them to contribute to the pile-up, so she promised herself that the next time she had a clear head she would think it over. In the meantime, she set out for the gymnasium to do some damage control and enjoy the rest of the party. Besides, she really wanted to see who everyone picked for the solos.

* * *

**Tehehe:)**

**Song is Coffee Break by Forever the Sickest Kids.**

**And as always, please review. Lemme know what you think. Tell me what you want to see more of. I like to hear ideas, so throw them at me!**


	14. Getting Better

**Alright, first off, I am SO sorry this took so long to update. Crazy schedules are crazy schedules.**

**Anyways, this one was a bitch to write, but then around Wednesday I finally figured out how this was going to play out.**

**Enjoy, and please review as always! :D

* * *

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Blaine woke up with a pounding headache and a furry feeling coating his tongue. He had never felt worse than he did now, after such a vulnerable night. He could remember vague details from the night, some stood out more than others, but he hoped that some things hadn't happened like he suspected it did. Just to be sure, he pulled out his phone after searching for it and finding it in his pants pocket, which lay in a heap on the bathroom floor.

**I am SO sorry for anything I may have done last night. I kind of blacked out after I went back to the bottle…-B**

He glanced over to Alex's bed, but it was empty despite the appearance of somebody sleeping in it. That was just the way some pillows were stuffed under the covers and it gave the illusion of a sleeping form beneath the blankets, instead of a pile of goose feather and cotton. His phone buzzed in his hand as Gemma sent her reply:

**It's okay. You didn't do anything except throw up and I helped you to your room. –Gem**

He thought it over for a moment before texting back. He chose his words carefully. They were simple and grateful words.

**Thank you for being there. I tend to ramble when I'm drunk. Somehow I remember that. –B**

Her reply was immediate.

**Blaine, seriously. Don't worry about it. You needed to get that off your chest. I'm glad you told me, even though you were drunk. I'm here for you :)-Gem**

**I just wanted to make sure I didn't overwhelm you. –B**

**Let it go. I'm here for you, and that's all that matters. You can't take back what you did or said. –Gem**

That caught him a bit off guard. Did she mean what he thought she meant? He shook his head at the screen in disbelief. There was no way that she would float around something like that. She could be shy, but blunt if need be, and he didn't think that he would be able to get by her with something like that. He typed out a vague response and sent it to her, wondering if she would clarify.

**Okay. Thank you again, for everything. –B**

He threw his phone back on his bed when he didn't get a further reply from her. He knew she left out a significant detail from the night. The way she ignored it confirmed the fact that she really was a friend. He hoped she wrote it off as a drunken moment and nothing more, and that he wouldn't remember it. That was the only acceptable way he could get away with that.

He knew what he did, of course. He had been fully aware of everything that went on. He traced his memory back to the night before, the pieces of the puzzle fitting together more and more the longer he was awake.

He had hurried from the party and gone off in search of something to take his mind off the pressing thoughts as he tried to dodge everyone he knew. Then the image of Alex's alcohol stash came to his mind, and he raced up to his room. When he got there, he wasn't going to be picky about the alcohol, mostly because he didn't drink any at all. He had no clue what was what, so he just grabbed the nearest open bottle, which had turned out to be whiskey. Then he stopped, and realized he hadn't quite thought everything through. He didn't know where he was going to drink it without getting caught. Surely the showcase wasn't going to last much longer and everyone would be returning to their dorms soon. Seeing their Head Boy drinking heavy amounts would do nothing to stave their hunger for parties, and it would make them think it was okay to drink the stuff all the time.

He suddenly thought of the perfect place and rushed back outside of Waldorf and through the halls of Westbrook to find Cardinal Hall. As soon as he arrived, he headed straight for the back corner of the vast room and closed the door on the practice space he had just entered. He slumped against the door for a moment, taking a deep breath before unscrewing the lid to the bottle of sprits and pouring it into the glass he grabbed from the place where Alex hid his stores.

He raised the glass hesitatingly to his lips, but then he quickly jerked the glass up and took a big swig from it. The liquid burned at his throat and he shuddered at the taste, but as the whiskey lingered in the crevices of his mouth and throat, a dull fog crept over him.

Sighing in relief at the gratifying mist creeping over him, he walked over to the bench at the piano and sat down. He took a few more drinks from the glass and refilled it when it was empty. The bottle had been just a little more than half-full, and now it was between halfway and one-third full. He took off his blazer and threw it on the floor, in a hurry to break free from the restrictive clothing. In his haste to loosen his tie, he tugged at his shirt and accidentally ripped out a few buttons, but that went unnoticed by him. He pushed up his sleeves, ready to just _forget all of his past._ He wanted the liquor to take him away to a place where he wasn't concerned by all of his petty problems.

He sat in a stupor for who knows how long until he heard his name being called in the distance. The pain was starting to come back as a dull ache in his head, and he was startled alert and he fell over, causing the crashing sound Gemma had heard from the hall. He sat there for a few more moments until she called his name again, louder this time and obviously closer. He fumbled to get up and knocked over a music stand. He huffed for a moment, then grabbed at a chair to help him up, and overturned it when he was on his feet again. That was when Gemma knocked on the door. He panicked for a second, he didn't want her to see him like this, but he had to let her in because she had obviously found him. He got up and wrenched open the door to see her worried face. Her cheeks were flushed, as if she had been running around the school. Which she probably had been, trying to find him. He hid from everyone, especially her, on purpose.

He turned away from her so she couldn't see the extent of the pain visible on his face. It was back again, so he reached for the glass on the piano to wash it away again. But it wasn't enough to forget, so he turned for the bottle sitting next to him. He shot daggers at Gemma when she took that away from him, but then for a moment he wondered what it would be like to actually tell someone what was going on. Before he changed his mind, he launched into that whole reprisal of his family history.

If he thought that telling would make it any better, he was severely mistaken. Being half-drunk and retelling all of those memories only made the hurt worse. He couldn't bear it any longer, and he took back the bottle from Gemma and downed it before she could rip it from his grasp again. He knew his mind was getting foggier and foggier by the second, so in his last semi-coherent thought, he remembers grabbing her face and kissing her. He remembers her reation, but then the he felt something deep in his guts that threatened to resurface if he wasn't quick. The world basically blanked after that, until he woke up that morning.

He would probably say that that was the biggest mistake ever, getting drunk like that and then pouring out his problems to her, and then acting on impulse. He _never_ acted on impulse before, and he could see why. It was extremely embarrassing, and it could have potentially ruined his amazing friendship with Gemma.

He sighed, and got up from his bed. He really wished everything from the night before hadn't happened, but it was too late to take anything back. He got some clean clothes from his dresser, and went to the shower to get ready for the day, and then to head home for the weekend. For the first time, he was glad to be home for the weekend, just so he didn't have to deal with any awkwardness that might come up. Sure, Gemma was brushing off the drunkness and trying to reassure him, but still, it would be awkward for him.

* * *

The following Monday, at the next Cardinal rehearsal, Richardson announced how he wanted to distribute the winners of the showcase from Friday night. Everyone already knew that he had chosen Gemma and Blaine to solo (that much was obvious from both of their performances), but the surprise pick of the night for the third soloist was Lucy. Her performance turned out to be very good, and a lot of people voted for her, besides voting for Blaine and Gemma.

The twist was the way Richardson wanted to have the songs done for Nationals. He assigned Lucy the first solo, Gemma with the ballad, and the shocker ended up being a duet between Gemma and Blaine for the third and final number. Everyone had just assumed that each would be given their own solo, and Gemma even protested a little with him, saying that she didn't need to be featured in two songs. He brushed off her attempts to downplay herself, and told her he really believed in their chances of winning if he did the songs like that.

He wasn't going to announce the songs they were going to sing just yet, because he wanted a sample performance from each of them, especially one for the duet to see how they would perform together. The nice part was that the soloists would get to choose their songs.

Blaine hadn't known the outcome of the showcase because he didn't ask anybody over the weekend, and he found out on Monday at that rehearsal. Gemma didn't tell him because it gave her a knot in her stomach because of what he told her in his drunken state. She didn't want to add to his problems with his parents, so she wanted to let him ask when he was ready to know. She was right in the fact that he wasn't pleased at the outcome, but he didn't question Richardson. He never did. It was just the way he was. He accepted outcomes as they were, and his philosophy was to improve oneself for the next time, so as to avoid an unpopular outcome.

Even if Blaine had asked Richardson to let him give the part to someone else, Richardson would have refused, simply because nobody would have wanted to do it. They were all rather intimidated from his performance and completely agreed with the decision to make him soloist yet again. They wanted to display his talent for the whole country to see, and they would not let him back out if he tried to.

This was going to get interesting.

* * *

Gemma knocked on Blaine's door a day later, asking about the duet they were to sing for Richardson. She had a list of ideas, and wanted his opinion before she chose one for sure. He had told her to pick the song out, but she wanted him to hear the options because she really did value his opinion (and she didn't want to do a duet that would seem like a love song, she wasn't ready for that yet). He opened the door and looked a little surprised.

"Oh, hey Gemma. What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. "Blaine, I told you that I wanted your opinion on these songs. Let me in so you can listen to them."

He stepped aside and she walked into his room and went directly to his stereo and plugged her iPod in. "Okay, so I made a playlist, take a look at it and tell me what you think."

He went over to stand beside her and took the iPod from her to scroll through the playlist. Sometimes, he tapped on a song to listen to it, but then he would scrunch his face, shake his head a little, and choose a different song. He had almost gotten to the end of the playlist when he saw a song he didn't recognize. He chose it, and the music filled the speakers and the room with the opening riffs of a guitar.

"Hmm I don't think I know this one," he told Gemma. She knew it immediately, and answered him, "It was released not too long ago. Do you like it?" she asked.

He listened to it through the chorus and bobbed his head a little to the beat of the song. "Yeah, actually. I really like this. Why don't we do this one?"

Gemma was relieved. "That's great, because this is the one I was silently rooting for," she said.

"Good choice, then." He smiled at her. "Why don't we start practicing this tomorrow so we can perform it on Friday?"

Gemma agreed with him. "Okay, that sounds good. Right now, though, I need to do some homework, and it's calling for me," she said with a frown. "Let me know what time you want to work on it."

"Will do," he called after her as she left his room. He was glad that that hadn't come off as awkward as he was thinking it would. He had sort of avoided Gemma on Monday during classes, and only talked to her a little bit earlier that day. Then he gave in because he knew that he would have to talk to her if they were going to do that solo. He figured that he was the one making things awkward, but then again, maybe the awkwardness was in his head. He had a tendency to make things up a lot and that usually didn't land him in favorable situations.

He settled on just trying to focus for the week on school and to just try to be as normal as possible for Gemma, so she wouldn't see how much he still struggled on the inside.

* * *

Gemma wasn't a fool, however, and knew that his problems were still bugging him. She didn't want a repeat of the night of the showcase with him thinking he needed to drown his sorrows in alcohol, so she wasn't going to approach him directly about it. The rehearsing was a little tense because she knew he was holding back on his potential and it killed her to see him do that. He shouldn't have to go through it, and she wanted to let him know somehow that he could talk to her, without feeling like she was worrying too much about him.

She tried to put those anxious thoughts about his situation and tried to settle them more on focusing for the performance as well. She was excited to do the duet, mainly because it was a favorite song of hers and it was fun to sing with someone, regardless of who it was. Then it came to her about what she would do to get through to Blaine. She didn't know why she didn't think of it sooner, but nonetheless, she set about planning that out for Friday as well.

The day came for the preview performances, and the duet that they prepared was to be the last performed, after Lucy's solo, and then after a ballad from Gemma, much like the way Richardson had envisioned it would be at nationals. He was getting really passionate and creative about the way they were going to perform there, and it was getting close to out of hand. His ideas were starting to get really crazy, and it usually took the entire group to convince him otherwise. They were all sort of afraid to see what he had up his sleeve next, but they waited in anticipation to see these preview performances of the Cardinals selected to solo at Nationals.

Lucy had just performed a lovely solo, it was clear now why they all chose her to do the opening solo. Her fiery spirit showed through in her singing and Richardson was now very happily planning a killer opener based on her performance from just then.

"Alright, thank you Lucy. That was really great. I'll get back to you soon with the number for Nationals so you we can start practicing that. Okay, next is Gemma with her ballad. Are you ready?" He looked over at her, sitting on one of the couches next to Blaine.

She stood up and answered him, "Yes, sir," and walked over to retrieve one of the guitars that stood in the stand next to the piano. Some people looked a little perplexed when she took the guitar, because they didn't know she played it at all. She explained a little for them. "I just started playing this not too long ago, but there's a message I want a friend of mine to know, and this song needs a guitar." She slung it around her neck and stood at the front of the room and shrugged her shoulders and said, "Anyways, here it goes."

_Since you've been gone  
Gone to the dogs  
In a roundabout way  
You're still sing  
Singing along  
I can see it in your face_

_Everywhere you go  
I'm there with you  
Still part of you  
Never let you go at it alone  
If you do  
I'll make sure you are standing on your feet  
Cause life could be sweet_

She had no need to search out the object of the song; he already knew it was for him. The pressure he had felt in his stomach since before Regionals began to lessen and he started to breathe easier. The words of the song were starting to soothe him.

_But now you're gone  
Gone to the dogs  
I don't know you like I did_

_So why don't you say  
Say it out loud  
All these things you hold inside of yourself  
Holding on tight  
As if you're frightened of the ride_

Blaine felt more of his pain receding as he listened to the song. These were the exact words he needed to hear, because it woke him up to what he was doing to himself.

_Everywhere you go  
It goes with you  
Takes part of you  
And never lets you go at it alone  
If it would I know you could be so much more than this  
And life could be bliss_

_I never hold you up  
And no I'll never let you down  
You know I do my best  
If I ever held you up  
No, you never let me down  
You let yourself down, let me down_

_But now you're gone  
Gone to the dogs  
I don't know you like I did_

The song ended with a melancholy note, but the way Blaine reacted to it, it could have been anything but a melancholy song. He was beginning to be eternally grateful for Gemma, with the way she had handled last Friday night, and now how she was still in support of him. That was the push he needed to let go of some of the issues holing him back, because now he know that she wasn't taking a pity on him. She was so genuine, and that's what it took for him to realize that.

He was pretty sure that he clapped the loudest, but he really wanted to show his appreciation for her. Richardson was very pleased with her as well, and praised her loudly. "Wow thank you Gemma! Again, I'll let you know what song you'll be singing so we can get to rehearsing that." He smiled, and began to introduce the duet. "And now, I think that we're all anxious to hear from our new duet here. Blaine, if you would kindly join Gemma up here at the front?"

Blaine obliged and went over to stand next to his partner. He took the guitar from her, and put the strap around his own neck. He looked at Gemma and nodded at her. She nodded back at him, and he started playing the song. Gemma did a little dancing jig and then started with her verse.

_Every night I walk the streets never dreaming what could happen_

_Sad and so lonely I saw in the mirror my reflection staring back at me_

_Thought I would never find what I need_

_But I'll wear that dress if you wear that tie, and baby we'll dance through the night,_

'_Cause no one's got what we've got going_

_Happiness never held onto me until you helped me see that together we're just better off._

Gemma skipped around the room. This was obviously going to be a cheesy and flirty duet, but despite the satire, the Cardinals were loving it. Most of them didn't recognize the son, but they swayed back and forth in their seats along to Gemma's voice. Blaine played the next few bars, then it was his turn.

_Oh my heart's been tried time and again_

_I always thought that it was me but_

_I seen just how wrong I was, no I haven't known you for a lifetime_

_But somehow I've never been more sure that you're for me,_

_Baby please don't, don't leave_

_Just come and dance with me tonight_

Gemma's voice joined him on the 'tonight' and they entered the chorus. He was now dancing a little around the room, his formality fading away as he let himself into the duet. They were having a lot of fun already. They were having a lot of fun already while singing it. Inwardly, Gemma was relieved that she had sang that song for him because she could see the subtle change in him. He was being more himself, the guy that she had started to get to know before his anxiety kicked in.

_I'll wear that dress if you wear that tie, and baby we'll dance through the night,_

'_Cause no one's got what we've got going_

_Happiness never held onto me until you helped me see that together we're just better off._

Blaine sang the next line, then Gemma took the one after that, and their voices joined together for the one following.

_Don't be cruel to me oh I've wanted more but I've been wrong before_

_So much learning to lose, but you're not a day too soon_

_So say you feel the same and we'll never be lonely anymore_

Blaine motioned Jeff up to the front of the room and Jeff took a guitar and started playing the song instead of Blaine. It seemed to be planned out, because then Blaine took his own guitar off and danced around the room with Gemma. They skirted between the sofas in the room, just fixed on each other happily and singing the song. This was the most carefree Blaine had felt in nearly a month, and he missed the feeling.

_I'll wear that dress if you wear that tie, and baby we'll dance through the night,_

'_Cause no one's got what we've got going_

_Happiness never held onto me until you helped me see that together we're just better off._

_I'll wear that dress if you wear that tie, and baby we'll dance through the night,_

'_Cause no one's got what we've got going_

_Happiness never held onto me until you helped me see that together we're just better off._

Blaine sang the next part lazily, in the way that he didn't want the song to end so he could stay in that wonderful world forever.

_We're just better off_

Gemma chimed in.

_I'll wear that dress_

And Blaine did as well, after she delivered her line.

_And I'll wear that tie_

They sang the last part in harmony, letting their voices mix together very nicely. They had made their way back to the front of the room and were leaning towards each other from opposite sides of the large desk that headed the area.

_And we'll just dance through the night_

_Tonight, tonight_

_Tonight_

The room was silent for a moment; the students just reveling in the lovely atmosphere that the song had created, until Richardson started clapping. The rest of the students followed suit, and interjected with their comments. The teacher stood up and let the applause continue politely, and then he spoke up.

"Okay thank you, Blaine and Gemma. That was rather, er, cute? Anyways, I'm glad I chose to pair you two. There's quite a lot of potential there between you guys. I'm excited to pick your song." He turned to the rest of the Cardinals and addressed them all this time.

"Thank you for listening to these today, and be prepared to rehearse a lot more starting sometime within the next two weeks." He then proceeded to dismiss the group, and they all filed out of the room with some renewed energy. Based on this preview, most of them were having a really good feeling about Nationals, Blaine especially. He had forgotten what he was so down about in the span of about four minutes, and he was reminded why he did music in the first place.

It was for that feeling; the one you get when you are so absorbed in your favorite thing, the entire world seems to be irrelevant to what's going on during that short time of music. It was a lot better than being high, and it was a lot easier that getting high, because all you need is a voice, and something to sing for. Blaine held on to those four minutes for a lot longer after the performance, because it was the first performance high he had in a very long time. At Regionals, even, he was so upset and paranoid he couldn't allow himself to be caught up in the moment there.

It was then that he decided that he wouldn't trade anything in the world for that feeling, and that he would not let whatever come his way get him down, because there were a lot more important things to worry about. He felt free.

* * *

**So this was going go a different way until the studio version of Dress and Tie (by Charlene Kaye) came out. I just LOVE that song and had to put it in here, because Blaine needed some of that levity, and it's getting this thing back on track anyways. Gemma's song is Gone To The Dogs by KT Tunstall. Love KT, too.**

**Again, sorry for how long this took...I'll try to get the next one done, but don't expect anything before March 8th...I've got a big project I really need to work on.**

**Please review! :D**

**And I don't own anything :/**


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